Will the "government option" of healthcare basically shut down the private health insurance market?

Above every other health-care goal, Democrats this year want to institute a "public option" -- an insurance program financed by taxpayers, managed by government and open to everyone, much like Medicare. This new middle-class entitlement is the most important debate in Congress this year, because it really is the last stand for anything resembling private health insurance.

This public option will supposedly "compete" with private alternatives. As President Obama likes to put it, those who are happy with the insurance they have now can keep it -- and if they happen to prefer the government offering, well, gee whiz, that's the free market at work. The reality is far different. Not only will the new program become the default coverage for the uninsured, but Democrats intend to game the system to precipitate -- or if need be, coerce -- an exodus to government from private insurance. Soon enough, that will be the only "option" left

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12395854...

So is this a "underhanded way" of getting Universal Health care passed?

You will see a massive exodus away from corporate group plans as soon as the government option becomes available regardless of how poor the care provided by the government option is.

Well, unfortunately for private insurance, the medicare system is much more efficient. So unless private insurance companies fire their CEOs making millions of dollars, it's going to be hard for them to compete with a governmental system.

PS you linked to the Wall Street Journal's opinion page??? Um, hate to break it to you, but the opinion people at the WSJ are batsh1t crazy. These are the people who call homeless people "lucky ducks" because they don't pay taxes. Interesting viewpoint.

If the private plans can't compete because of their bloated overhead, redundant bureaucracies, exorbitant executive compensation, and dividend payments--and because the federal plan will have far superior purchasing and bargaining power--then shouldn't they fail?

If anybody has been gaming the system, it is the for-profit insurance companies. Otherwise we would not be paying the highest price in the world for the 37th-best outcomes.

I wouldn't call it "underhanded" but it will effectively force every private health insurance provider (companies such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, etc) into becoming small arms of the Federal Government. In order to remain competitive--or even just to stay in business--they will have to offer the government plan, which means they would fall under the auspices of the Executive Branch.

Yes. Isn't this nice? As usual when our government is supposed to work for us, if they can't get public support, they just weave their way around it to demolish it.

No. But hopefully it will reduce the billions cheated out of Medicare by most of those companies.

Hopefully yes. I don't understand why folks prefer having business managers make their medical decisions for them

That is the plan.

Kaiser has a not for profit business model. I have never had a complaint. I pay more in medicare tax than I do for Kaiser (this includes my employer's contributions). I will welcome single payer... as every idiot who goes to the doctor for a little sniffle will get profiled and put on a list of people abusing the system. In that case, I welcome rationing. Sure, people will complain, there will be more tea parties and such, but after a generation, people will be so used to crappy service that there will be little that can be done (like with the IRS).

The majority of people without health insurance are high school dropouts. When are we going to focus on teh fact that education is ALWAYS the key to a better life? Not necessarily college, but even techical school? Or skilled trade school? But by all means, let's continue the race to the bottom...

No. Which is a shame.

FACT - the USA spends more on healthcare PER PERSON than any other nation on the planet.

FACT - the US has higher death rates for kids aged under five than western European countries with universal health coverage.

That means that a dead American four year old would have had a better chance of life if they were born in Canada, France, Cuba, Germany, Japan etc, all of which have universal health coverage.