Even right wingers admit that private insurance companies are seriously flawed

[Proud Liberal Dem]

No, you won't ever catch them admitting it out loud (they don't want to endanger their contributions from the private insurance industry) but, at least indirectly, they acknowledge this simple "inconvenient truth" whenever they screech about the proposed Public Option plan.

When they say that a robust PO will put private insurance companies out to pasture, they seem to be acknowledging the fact that there is NO WAY IN HELL private insurers are going to be able to compete with a robust Public Option created by the government because it will ultimately be better for more people and cost less. I know that if my family and I qualify for it, I'll be one of the first ones to sign up for it and a lot of other people I know will too. I don't want a private insurance company that's going to take my money and then tell me that they think that they know what's better for me than my own doctor and neither do a lot of other people. I think that Republicans, at some core level, understand this unpleasant reality and are scared shirtless because of it, hence their vociferous opposition to HCR.

How often do you hear Republicans get up and extol the virtues of private insurance companies? They talk about us having the best health care system in the world but I never hear them say that we have the best private insurance companies in the world. And without some kind of insurance, there is no way for most people to even have ACCESS to the best health care system in the world. For instance, getting a mammogram screening is great but it doesn't help much if they find something that needs to be treated if you can't afford insurance or your insurance won't cover it.

Do many Republican members of Congress eschew their government (a.k.a. TAXPAYER)- subsidized plan in favor of obtaining their own private insurance plan? If they don't believe that taxpayer money should be used to cover other people's basic health needs, WTF are THEY doing accepting a taxpayer-funded plan? Shouldn't they be leading by example and taking personal responsibility for obtaining their own private insurance plan? I mean, c'mon, if THEY won't stoop to buying private insurance ON PRINCIPLE, particularly if it saves Uncle Sam some dough (which they always claim to be concerned about), why don't they do it? Have any former members of Congress whom qualify for it given up their Medicare coverage yet in favor of getting a private insurance plan to help get them through the "golden years".

Every conceivable reason that Republicans give us to justify their opposition to a government-run health plan in our country, even one that is strictly VOLUNTARY, can be immediately applied to how private insurance companies operate RIGHT NOW and they know THAT too, which is why they constantly project all of their faults onto a government plan. They seem to have done a good job using this to scare people and turn people against a government plan but if private insurance companies were as great as they claim they are, why would they need to resort to their bag of tricks to kill HCR time and time again?

The bottom line is, IF PRIVATE INSURANCE IS SUPERIOR TO A PUBLIC OPTION PLAN, THEN WTF ARE THEY SO AFRAID OF? I say, let the private insurance companies and the government compete in the health care arena and let the so-called "invisible hand" decide which will ultimately prevail. If private insurance companies and their supporters are truly convinced of their superiority, then I would think that they would have nothing to fear, right? Right?????

[mustardman]

1. Estimates from CBO is something like only 10% would go with public

There are all sorts of examples out there. The latest one I've seen is Ireland. They apparently have something similar to the proposed Public/Private option. Private insurers are doing just fine over there.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

2. Even if we had a SP system people would still want some supplemental coverage

So, I don't think that they will necessarily go the way of the dodo by any means either. If the existence of a PO helps encourage more competition among insurance companies or, as Obama suggests, helps "keep them honest," then that would be a good thing too. My opinion is that having a PO is a win-win scenario. We either get better private insurance companies because they will be forced to compete or, eventually, a single-payer system.