An activist recently shared this perspective on the proposed "public private" healthcare option and the "phase-in" period:
"...PNHP wrote a response to "The Public Option" a couple of weeks ago. ...The *numbers published stated that if 95% of the public sign on to the Public Option it would result in a savings of only 16% of [savings] attainable by a pure Single Payer Plan. Underwhelming to say the least.
If there is any phase-in at all I would rather see it done by age and completed in one 4 year period. Say first eliminate the Medicare Gap Insurance scam and fold Medicare D Prescription Drug Coverage into Medicare B. The second phase would drop Medicare Enrollment down to 50 years of age while at the same requiring young adults 30 years and young to participate in Medicare. Children would be brought in under SCHIP. Phase three would close the remaining gap and everyone would be in the system.
There should be no "second chances" for the insurance companies. They had 14 years to clean up their act after "Hillary Care" bombed and the Health Insurance Situation has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. This exercise should be about ONE THING ! Allowing the Insurance Industry to exit gracefully. That is where my generosity ends..."
*http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/03/26/himmelstein-and-woolhandler-on-a-public-plan-option/
"...even if 95 percent of Americans who are currently privately insured were to join the public plan (and it had overhead costs at current Medicare levels), the savings on insurance overhead would amount to only 16 percent of the roughly $400 billion annually achievable through single payer — not enough to make reform affordable..."
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