political_debater

Still Not Convinced the Public Option is a Trojan Horse for Single-Payer? The Foundry


Schakowsky tells her Health Care for America Now audience: “And next to me was a guy from the insurance company who argued against the public health insurance option, saying it wouldn’t let private insurance compete. That a public option will put the private insurance industry out of business and lead to single-payer. My single-payer friends, he was right. The man was right.”


Frank tells a member of Single Payer Action: “I think that if we get a good public option it could lead to single-payer and that is the best way to reach single-payer. Saying you’ll do nothing till you get single-payer is a sure way never to get it. … I think the best way we’re going to get single-payer, the only way, is to have a public option and demonstrate the strength of its power.”


Klein tells his netroots audience: “They have a sneaky strategy, the point of which is to put in place something that over time the natural incentives within its own market will move it to single-payer.”


Krugmans tells his audience: “[T]he only reason not to do [single-payer] is that politically it’s hard to do in one step…You’d have to convince people to completely give up the insurance they have, whereas something that lets people keep the insurance they have but then offers the option of a public plan, that may evolve into single-payer, but you can do it politically…

Krugman would know, he's an economist!


All of these Obama allies support a “public option” because they believe it will eventually lead to a single-payer system. Conservatives are against the “public option” because, like everybody quoted above, we also believe that a “public option” will inevitably lead to single-payer health care. There is one person, however, who vehemently disagrees with everyone quoted above about the effect a public option would have on private health care. President Barack Obama told the AMA June 15th:


But does President Obama even believe his own words here? Watch this video and decide for yourself:

Arch Enemy

The Democrats in the Senate make too much money from Insurance companies to harm them.

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"I do not underestimate the ability of fanatical groups of terrorists to kill and destroy, but they do not threaten the life of the nation. Whether we would survive Hitler hung in the balance, but there is no doubt that we shall survive al-Qa'ida." -- Lord Hoffmann

Joe1991

Despite the last video which was badly edited (Obama was talking about employer-paid coverage), I don't think it's a "shock" to anyone that many liberals are for a single-payer plan.

We'll get there eventually, it's just sad that so many will suffer while we have to drag conservatives slowly into the future.

vvx

If there are natural incentives that will push the market to single-payer, the same natural incentives will push the market to monopolization. That's not necessarily bad, natural monopolies exist because they're more efficient. The problem comes with the power that monopoly gives you, which is why we have government regulation. So ultimately if he is right, our choice would be between a private health care monopoly, inefficient competition, or government single payer. The private monopoly would need so much regulation it doesn't make much sense. Inefficient competition is, well, inefficient. Leaving the government single payer as the best option there.

If he's right anyway. If he's wrong about the natural incentives favoring monopoly, then a government option won't become a single payer system over time.