HELP Committee Drafts Health Bill with Public Option

Members on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee are “putting the finishing touches on a government health insurance option that they hope will win broad support among Democrats and the public,” the AP reports.

According to a draft summary circulating Tuesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee proposal calls for a nationwide plan to be run by the federal government. An upfront loan from taxpayers would get the plan started, but it would have to pay its own way after a few months, relying on premiums collected from beneficiaries to stay solvent.

The public plan would be offered alongside private coverage through new insurance purchasing pools called exchanges. The government option would have to follow the same consumer protection rules as private plans it competes with.

This proposal “will be one of at least four major options for lawmakers to consider on a government plan after they return from their weeklong July 4th recess.”

Alternative option one:

The first option is to have no public plan, maintaining the current system in which the government covers the elderly and low-income people, but most workers and their families get job-based insurance. Having no public plan is the option favored by Republicans, who are almost unanimously opposed to the idea.

Two:

At the other end of the spectrum is the House Democrats’ proposal. It calls for a public plan that would pay doctors and hospitals using reimbursement rates keyed to Medicare’s, which medical providers say are often too low.

In an important distinction, the Senate HELP committee’s plan would not use Medicare payment rates.

Three:

Finally, the Senate Finance Committee is trying to come up with a bipartisan compromise. Ideas include setting up nonprofit co-ops that would not be controlled by the government, and having a public plan as a fallback only if private insurers fail to bring costs down and expand coverage.