A common statement by the politicians in Washington is that a government option will create a system with too much power. This will cause private insurance companies to lose customers because of the power a government system could wield. In extreme cases it has been said that a government option will lead us on the path to socialism. The United States is built upon an ideal of competition. That those that can provide a better product or service at a cost people hold as valuable will succeed in the marketplace. This American ideal is being challenged by those that would say a government option would take customers away from private insurance.
Let me explain what I mean by this. If a government option were available, people would still consider both public and private insurance. It is my understanding that the public option would give those without insurance, whether they can afford it or not, an opportunity to be cared for without causing them over a reasonable amount of financial stress. People who are uninsured now for financial reasons cannot go to private insurance companies. A government option would not take these people away from private insurance companies because they are not currently covered under the existing system. It would be like saying BMW is worried Kia is taking away their customers. They serve almost entirely different markets with each company serving two distinct groups of people.
Private insurance companies would serve their current customers, and the government option would serve those left behind by the current health care system. As long as private companies can provide a superior service for their current customers they don't have to worry about a government program. If they cannot provide superior service at the same price, they are not doing their job. We all know that the US government hasn't been doing a very good job from a business standpoint. A business over 11 trillion dollars in debt could not rationally survive (though some financial companies seem to be striving for this goal). If private insurance companies cannot compete with the US government on health care there is obviously something wrong with the way they run their business.
Around 15% of Americans are uninsured of 2007. A country with such a high standard of living should not allow this to happen. A public option would not take customers away from private health care. They would serve two different types of customers. If private companies cannot provide a service that will cater to the portion of 15% that should be able to afford a reasonable amount of insurance a government option should be make available. This is the brief opinion of an upper middle class citizen of the US whose family can afford a private insurance plan.
