Shot Through the Heart: The Public Option for Health Care Reform

It's been confusing, trying to follow all the discussion about Health Care Reform, but as a woman who is nearing 40 and suffering from several health concerns, it's been a subject to which I've paid particularly close attention. Of particular interest has been the topic of Public Option for Health Care Reform.

The idea of Public Option is that, in addition to regular insurance companies like Blue Cross & Blue Shield, there would be a government run company that people could opt to choose, rather than one of the private or larger-run insurance companies. One would hope that this would be a more affordable route and that, by allowing this public option, they would force insurance costs down as companies were forced to vie for customers. Naturally, we've been taught that anything that will create competition between companies is generally a good thing - take a look at neighboring gas stations and their daily price wars, if you'd like a good example.

Of course, others would argue that this is just another step towards Socialism, where government becomes too involved with peoples' daily lives. These fearful individuals see the Public Option as simply being a more gradual shift towards a full government run health care option, not unlike what Canada currently has. While many people, particularly those from low-income families, don't see this option as the scary monster others might portray it to be, many point out the flaws in the Canadian system, ranging from month-long waits for operations or overly long waits in the emergency room, to poor treatment for serious or terminal illnesses. Ask around and, 9 times out of 10, you'll hear some form of horror story about why we shouldn't have a government-run medical system.

So is the Public Option for Health Care Reform a good option? As a single mother, earning just enough money to keep us at the edge of the poverty level, I can see both sides of the argument. I've dealt with a degree of government run medical; I'm currently considered to be "medically needy" and I'm told that I'm eligible for Medicaid on myself and my teenage son, with a co-pay of more than $1000.00 per month. Mind you, this is the amount that the government feels that I'm capable of paying. Of course, they don't take into consideration the amount of money being paid on my student loan, the car payment I have on my recently-purchased 9-year old vehicle or the insurance increase that I have to pay because it's financed.

Ask anyone who has ever had to rely upon assistance: The government doesn't take into consideration the amount of money that you're paying on past bills or credit cards - they look at how much money you make, a few basic expenses, and base things off of this. Needless to say, one has to wonder how many expenses would be taken into consideration, when determining how much one is eligible for in a government-run insurance system or who would be eligible to apply for this public option medical insurance.

We have to be realistic here - While it would be wonderful for the government to just snap their fingers and everyone would suddenly have insurance, one has to wonder where the money for such programs would come from. If there are so many uninsured, and the government already has to place such a high monthly co-pay on a family, what kind of co-pay will be imposed upon the general public as the government dollar is stretched further and further? Who will be taxed in order to provide this government-funded health care? How many of the middle class will drop to the low-income or poverty bracket before there is enough money to sustain this public option?

The flip side, however, is equally frightening. Talk of mandatory insurance, with fees of up to $3800.00 per year for those who fail to maintain insurance upon themselves, is increasingly stressful to the low-income family. Now, in addition to worrying about the risk of injury or illness, people who are already caught up in a struggling economy must have to worry about how to come up with enough money to pay for their insurance, lest they get punished with this pricey penalty for not having medical coverage. In many ways, while it may seem to be a win-win situation by insuring everyone, for those who are struggling to keep their heads above poverty level, either option seems a lethal strike against the poor and a solid punch in the gut for those of low and middle income.

So what's the answer? At this point, I have no clue, so I urge them to go back to the drawing board, take careful consideration into what they're doing, and start over from scratch. Government funded health care coverage sounds wonderful, but it's still a Utopian concept; a wonderful dream-like perfection but, in reality, riddled with flaws. In the end, all I can say is that it's a shame that we live in a country where people not only have to fear being ill, but must equally fear insurance costs, penalties, and medical bills that they know they can't pay.

Sources:

http://www.abcnews.com - Various newscasts
The St. Petersburg Times - Tampa Bay Area Newspaper, Florida