In what may seem derivative of that link on the main page concerning Homer Simpson and foreign policy, I now bring us a look at the current debate over the public option through the sublime prism of The Simpsons. However, the idea for this came to me a day before I saw that think, so it was actually unaffected. Anyway, here we go.
One aspect of the current debate over the public option that most wrankles many liberals (here and elsewhere) is the open admission by many in both the insurance industry and the Republican leadership that the creation of such an option would pose a competitive risk to the private insurers. However, in a logical bifurcation, we're also told that the public option would be a terrible provider and would ultimately destroy the healthcare system. These two strands of argument are at odds with each other, for obvious reasons, but it's been hard to make that point stick. But what better illustrative reference than America's true First Family (sorry, Barack, Michelle, Malia, Sasha, and Bo)?
In Homer's Triple Bypass, one of my personal favourite episodes of the series (containing, among other things, Homer's classic line: "Don't worry Marge. America's healthcare system is second only to Japan...Canada, Sweden, Great Britain, well, all of Europe, but you can thank your lucky stars we don't live in Paraguay!"), Homer suffers a coronary and, as the title suggests, requires a triple bypass surgery. This is obviously rather expensive, and the Simpson family, like so many Americans, has no health insurance. The cost of the operation as performed by Springfield General's superbly qualified Dr. Julius Hibbert (incidentally, a respectable member of the Springfield Republican Party; whether he supported Obama in 2008 is unknown) would be $40,000 (initially $30,000, but hearing the price causes Homer to have another attack, which prompts Hibbert to dispassionately up his fee).
Unable to pay Dr. Hibbert (or convince any number of religious groups to foot the bill for them), they give up on "the best" and try "the rest", Dr. Nick Riviera, the seedy and incompetent other doctor who promises to perform any operation for $129.95.
Opponents of the public option would equate it with Dr. Nick; however, as this episode illustrates, the only people who would ever go to Dr. Nick are people like the Simpsons, who couldn't afford treatment at all otherwise (being fair to Nick, he ultimately does save Homer, though only with Lisa's help). So, assuming that the public option is Dr. Nick, that would affect the tens of millions without insurance, but the private insurers don't get any money from those people at the moment anyway. In order for the private insurers to be affected, they'd have to start losing their existing clientelle. And why would anyone give up the supposedly excellent health insurance that they already have (Hibbert) in order to save money? Okay, a few might, but some people are stupid; if the debate over "death panels" demonstrated anything, it's that. Most people would stay where they are.
The public option is only a danger to insurers' bottom lines if it's a second Dr. Hibbert, offering equal (or better, since they aren't out to ditch their obligations whenever it's time to actually pay) coverage at better cost and good service. And if that's the case, what exactly is the virtue of the private insurer? Delivery systems have no virtues in and of themselves, only virtues in how well they accomplish a specific task. If the public option is a threat to private insurers, as many on the right claim, it is only because it would do their job better.