Health Care's True Price | The American Prospect

American Prospect by Paul Waldman | Jul. 9, 2009 (Opinion)

Health-care wonks worth their salt will tell you that the big issue in the current effort to reform our abysmal health-care system is cost control. They say if we don't do something to rein in the spiraling cost of health-care, it will eventually bankrupt us all. This is also a key argument made by advocates of what has become the ideological fulcrum of the health-care reform debate: the public option. Those who want to give Americans the choice of a ... Full Story »

Posted by Samuel W. Velsor IV

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Samuel W. Velsor IV
3.8
 by Samuel W. Velsor IV - Jul. 9, 2009

An outstanding informative article on why the Public Option is needed.

I have always supported the public option. We have to slow the giant amounts of profits and lobby money that is currently being spent at the expense of giving American need health care. You need to read this if you feel sure that a public option is wrong- this may change your mind.

That’s all true. But for the most part, we haven’t heard the best argument for a public option: security. It’s what ought to be at the center of this debate, and it’s the one thing private insurance companies will never offer.

Security is important. Since we do not know how much coverage there will be but some is better than none.

You need never fear that you will find yourself without coverage after your insurer dropped you or you lost your job. You might fear getting sick, but you won’t fear that your life will be destroyed by not being able to pay for getting sick

The private health insurance market is dominated by four gigantic insurers: UnitedHealth, WellPoint, Aetna, and Cigna. In the last five years, these companies have combined to earn over $44 billion in profits; UnitedHealth alone has made over $17 billion in profits over that period.

This is a real reason to nationalize the Health Care industry, add to the profits all the expenses for salaries and advertising- plus plus.

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