Greetings,

When it comes to incorporating a public health insurance option into health care reform, competition is the big issue.

As the debate heats up in Congress, some lawmakers are voicing their opposition to a public insurance option because they believe that private insurance providers would be at a disadvantage if they had to compete with a government run public insurance plan.

So how is it possible to resolve conflicting interests over the public insurance option? To begin, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), in cooperation with many proponents for health care reform, has devised a framework for a public insurance option which reflects a bipartisan approach. Understanding that some critics of the public option feel that government run insurance might drive private insurers out of the market, Senator Schumer has proposed a system that would level the playing field between public and private insurance providers.

The Schumer Plan establishes that any public insurance plan must adhere to the following principles:

• The public plan must be self sustaining generating its useable resources from premiums and co-payments.
• A public plan would not be allowed to receive tax revenue or appropriations from the government.
• Equal payment rates for medical services will be established for both public and private insurers. In other words the public plan will not be like Medicare which pays doctors and hospitals less than private insurers pay.
• The government should not compel doctors and hospitals to participate in a public plan just because they participate in Medicare.
• To prevent the government from serving as both "player and umpire," the officials who manage a public plan must be different from those who regulate the insurance market.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who serves on the Senate Finance Committee with Senator Schumer and is an outspoken critic of the public option, said that Republicans were open to considering a public plan as an option, as long as it operated under the same rules as private plans. Therefore, it is apparent that Senator Schumer's plan, which establishes a level playing field for public and private insurers, will be essential to building bipartisan support for the public option.

As the debate over health care reform continues, this type of joint effort and willingness to find a common ground will determine whether or not, at the end of the day, working families can get the quality affordable care they deserve.

CLICK HERE for more information on the public insurance option and for the latest news on health care reform.

Sincerely,

Charles Wowkanech, President
Laurel Brennan, Secretary-Treasurer