Let me preface this diary by saying: I want a public option!
I really want Single payer (Medicare for all!)
I want the Repubs to stop lying through their teeth!
I want them to stop scaring the crap out of the Seniors! I want them to denounce these gun-toting yahoos who are getting their pictures on TV as the total whack jobs they are! I want them to do things that they likely will never do!
All that being said: How could the co-op idea become a 'public option' in effect?
The model frequently referred to is that of the nation's Rural Electric Cooperatives established by the Roosevelt Administration in the 30's. Ask any rural resident how they feel about their Elec Coop and you will invariably get a positive answer. (Other than just the chronic gripers who would complain about anything.) Prior to the establishment of the Rural Electrification Administration, rural America was totally in the dark. No electricity to run water wells, no fans in livestock barns, no lights in the house, except for kerosene lamps. The REA could be cited as the one factor that changed American life more than any other from 1935 to the 1950's.
http://www.nreca.org/...
How do they work? Well, each Co-op has a particular service area that encompasses one or more counties in an area. Each co-op has a board of directors elected by the membership. Each of the regional co-ops then send a representative to the State Board. In Arkansas, I am on Carroll Electric Co-op, who sends a rep to the State Board of Arkansas Electrical Cooperatives. Each regional co-op is charged with the operation and maintenance of the utility. In our state, Arkansas Electric Cooperative has established power generation plants and also buys electricity from various power grids. They also negotiate with suppliers for the best prices on materials for the use of each regional co-op.
(That's the short version and if any one sees an error, feel free to correct me in your comments.)
So, in theory, how could this be applied to Health Care Co-ops? With the recent yammering on the 'public option', more news outlets are exploring the co-op issue.
The advantages have been talked about; member-owned, non-profit, etc. Two examples cited are a co-op in Washington state and one in Minnesota. The Philadelphia Inquirer has a good article about coops on its web site.
http://www.philly.com/...
The main disadvantage seems to be less negotiating power.
One way to overcome this would be to establish a Co-op in each state, then pool multiple states into an even larger pool(perhaps modeled on the EPA Regions across the country), with each state supplying members of the governing body. Use the larger risk pool to establish the 'cafeteria plan' that the Federal government utilizes. The idea would be rather than small regional co-ops negotiating on their own, a multi-state or even national co-op board negotiating for them. That way more than one insurance company would be allowed to compete for business, but still have choice and competition.
A board structure similar to what I am proposing is the National Rural Water Association which has as its members each state Rural Water Association which is made of member rural and small community water systems who elect a board of directors and each state association provides representatives to the National Board.
National Rural Water Association
Now, Kossacks, eat me alive.
Update 1: All your comments are good, even those ridiculing the 'proposal'. My point is, if 'Politics is the art of compromise', somebody better have a Plan B.
In response to some commenters: 'Medicare for all' is the simplest solution to this problem. My Grandpa always told me, "There may be more than one way to skin a cat, but you do want to use the sharpest knife."
Update 2: Thanks to all the commenters, especially, JerichoJ8. I have now dropped of the roll, so it's goodbye for now. Wasn't this fun while it lasted?