A recent poll shows that most Americans believe at least one central idea in President Obama’s push to change the status of health care delivery in America is a good one. Seventy-two percent of Americans nationwide have embraced the notion that a public health insurance option would help reform the insurance side of the problem. There are some crucial details still to be resolved, but a “public plan” would allow people to choose to buy insurance from a public entity instead of the traditional private insurers such as Blue Cross and Aetna.
The President has touted this idea because it brings competition to the insurance marketplace, potentially forcing private insurers to provide better service for less cost in order to compete for customers.
Critics say the popularity of the public plan could drive private insurers out of business, leaving only the public option and little competition in the end. For this reason a crucial question is whether the public insurance entity will have to play by the same rules as private insurers – such as balancing its books – or if it will be subsidized by the federal government. Insurance companies are lobbying hard against any kind of a public plan and Republicans in Congress have refused to consider the idea up until now. However, polling showing popular support for the plan and belief that Democrats have better ideas on health care reform could change the Republican position. The New York Times/CBS poll found that 57 percent of those polled thought Democrats would do a better job making changes to health care, including 25 percent of Republican respondents.
Another idea being pushed by Democrats is to increase the government subsidies for health care insurance for the 45 million Americans who are uninsured. The use of emergency facilities and payment by federal and state governments and hospitals is expensive and inefficient. While providing insurance to those who cannot afford may be costly, this also has public support, according to the poll. A majority of respondents said they would support higher taxes to pay for insurance coverage for the uninsured.
President Obama has stated that he supports increasing the number of Americans who are insured, but he intends to pay for it by making other cuts in the overall budget. This should keep health care reform from stalling because of the debate on deficits. In fact, the savings from decreasing the use of emergency room care where a simple doctor's visit is all that is required and from increasing access to preventative case such as annual check-ups will be substantial. These reforms can save money in the long run.
