Now with all the talk of reorganizing and reevaluating healthcare, you’ll find that the term healthcare public option has been thrown around a lot lately. Not many people realize what this is, and unfortunately there’s a lot of misinformation as to what these types of plans would provide. It’s important that you really understand both the positives and realistic aspects of these types of plans, so that you can be sure you’re able to make an informed decision as to which side of the issue you support. There are pros and cons to both private insurance, and a healthcare public option, but if you don’t understand them you don’t stand much of a chance of making an informed decision.
Basically public healthcare is insurance that’s run by the government, and that’s funded through taxes and even premiums, to provide healthcare to everyone. But there are several nuances as to how this works, and how this actually provides care. Without understanding all the sides of the issue, you can’t get a good idea as to whether or not this type of a plan would really succeed in America. But here are some of the most common misconceptions regarding healthcare public option ideas and plan proposals:
1) The government will not decide what type of care you get.
This is the biggest misconception that most people have about single payer healthcare, or anything else of the sort. But the fact of the matter is that all plan proposals are modeled after the private market. That means you can expect to have the same amount of choices on the tiers of your coverage, and it will also cost more for better benefits. That means you’re totally controlling the type of care that you can receive as well as afford to pay for, so that you can choose a pricing structure that you’re most comfortable with.
2) Most healthcare public option plans provide for everyone.
The main advantage of free healthcare plans as they are sometimes called, is that there are options for literally everyone to get care. That means while there are proposals for versions that you can buy into for better care, everyone will have some form of plan that they can get. Those that fall into certain income brackets will be able to get extremely affordable benefits, without being unfairly treated, which is just another massive bonus of the system.
3) Government health insurance operates at a loss.
This actually isn’t true, and most all projections would show that a healthcare public option would actually reduce the government’s deficit. Just as insurance companies are able to offer health benefits and the like, while still maintaining an operating profit, with government insurance you’re going to find that the same would be true. That means the government could make more money, and could then put that towards deficits thereby reducing them while still proving cheaper care.
4) Having government care would eliminate competition in the private sector.
Also not true, because privatized insurance is always going to be around for those that want to pay for this type of care. What you’re going to find is it would more or less force companies to charge lower prices to compete with the healthcare public option instead. Thereby promoting competition, and reducing healthcare costs altogether, which is something that would be good for every American. Health care costs can be a little out of control at times, and that’s largely due to everything being run as a for profit industry.
5) Health care costs on a whole would go down.
A massive part of the industry having to deal with rising costs is because of private companies operating for profit. Because the government would be a non-profit industry, you’ll find that this means they can charge a much lower price, one that just allows them to maintain operating costs, so that you have a great option that is going to be affordable to just about everyone. This way, you can ensure that there’s going to be affordable as well as fair insurance coverage, that’s going to also compete with other companies driving down the costs of their services as well. That means better prices for everyone, and a much more competitive atmosphere.