Healthcare reform can survive without a public plan
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The online poll accompanying my column today asks whether healthcare reform is still possible without a public plan. Last time I checked, more than three-quarters of the hundreds of respondents said no. I’m also getting swamped with e-mail from readers such as Russ, who says that ‘without a strong public option, there is no healthcare reform. None.’
I respectfully disagree. I too believe that a public option would be best -- I’ve supported a Medicare-for-all approach for years. But is healthcare reform DOA without a public plan? No. It will just take a different form. Maybe not a preferable form, but hopefully something that can still address our core problems: the roughly 47 million who lack coverage, runaway medical costs and discriminatory pricing for people with health issues or a preexisting condition.
If we can’t come up with a reform package that tackles those problems, then I’ll agree that we’ve failed at what could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to overhaul our healthcare system. But I remain hopeful that remedies can be found -- perhaps not comprehensive solutions, but at least some way of making our system more equitable and accessible.
A public plan would be great. But change is still possible without one.
-- David Lazarus
