This won't come as the slightest surprise to those versed in health care policy issues. But I fear it's only barely permeated the health care reform debate in the country, certainly in Washington. And that's this: the opposition to a so-called 'public option' comes almost entirely from insurance companies who have developed monopolies or near monopolies in particular geographic areas. And they don't want competition.
Note, I'm not saying more competition. I'm saying any competition at all. As Zack Roth explains in this new piece 94% of the health care insurance market is now under monopoly or near-monopoly conditions -- the official term of art is 'highly concentrated'. In other words, there's no mystery why insurance costs keep going up even as the suck quotient rises precipitously. Because in most areas there's little or no actual competition.
During his press conference last week, the President made it abundantly clear that the arguments about the public option were illogical on their face. Since no one is seeking to replace private insurance with a single-payer program, but rather offer a public option as something to compete with private health insurance; and, since this is true, and conservatives and Republicans argue continuously that a public plan would be costly, inefficient, and riddled with bureaucratic obstacles, what in the world are they worried about?
The answer is pretty clear.
I have yet to read a substantive criticism of a public health care plan. All one hears is "SOCIALIZED MEDICINE!!! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!" And, of course, the "r" word, which is meaningless since we already ration health care based on ability to pay. So, on the one hand we have the insurance companies and a few of their mindless enablers screeching meaningless drivel. On the other side we have a large majority of the American people, the President of the United States, several members of the United States Senate (not including, unfortunately, Max Baucus, who has come out forcefully against any public option whatsoever, favoring "co-ops" which are just HMOs by another name).
I am confident my Senators, Roland Burris and Richard Durbin, will do the right thing. I am also confident my Representative, Don Manzullo, will not. I would urge you, if you even suspect either your Senator or Representative is wavering, on the fence, could go either way (and not in a good way), send an email, give 'em a call, send a letter. Don't send a petition.
One note. I do not urge people to call Senators or Representatives from outside one's own state or district. What possible reason would a Senator from California have to listen to anything I say?
