Earlier today, Howard Dean proposed resolving the public option impasse by allowing all Americans -- regardless of age -- to purchase their health insurance from Medicare instead of being legally mandated to purchase insurance in the private sector.
Karen Ignani, the chief lobbyist for the health insurance industry, slammed Dean's proposal because, she says, Medicare "is a government-run program." True, Medicare is a government-run program -- but it's also a a helluva' lot more popular than the private insurers on whose behalf she lobbies.
Watch:
The reality is that the only people who stand to lose by creating an optional public plan for health insurance is the health insurance industry itself. What they want is a mandate requiring everybody to buy private health insurance. That's why they are fighting any sort of public option -- they want a monopoly over a system in which people are legally required to buy their product. It's unfortunate that they could get their way.
:::
Transcript:
DR. NANCY SNYDERMAN: If we took a public option and retooled it somewhat, why not make the case to the American public that we will allow people below the age of 65 to buy into Medicare even if there's some trimming that has to be done out of that budget too?
DR. HOWARD DEAN: That's all I want. If you allowed people to buy into Medicare who are below 65 years old, that's a public option, and that's what we need.
SNYDERMAN: To look at the other side of this argument, Karen Ignani, she's the President and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans.
SNYDERMAN: Would you be comfortable allowing people to buy into Medicare and let that serve as a public plan?
IGNANI: Well, I think that this is a fair question, and we ought to have a fair debate about it, straight up.
SNYDERMAN: But what's your position?
IGNANI: We'd be concerned about that.
SNYDERMAN: Why?
IGNANI: Because that is a government-run program, it is a single-payer system, and that discussion ought to be held straight up.
