Co-Ops Will Kill Public Option, Chances Of Real Reform, Says Public Policy Expert

Professor Jacob Hacker, widely credited as being the originator of the idea of a "public option" to compete with private insurers, says that a co-operative is not a viable alternative to a real public option. The Yale professor says co-operatives should be shown for what they really are; a means to kill the public option. (0:27)
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[Cindy Lugo]

Without a public option universal coverage and insurance reforms will bankrupt the country. I wish a co-op was a viable option, and we could give up the public option.

Co-ops are not a viable competitor. This has been documented by the government and tried for many years. Co-ops never have the buying power to effectively change the Insurance Industry prices. The co-ops that start succeeding (e.g. blue cross/blue shield) are bought up by the private sector. Nothing prevents private insurance from buying up, or buying out, any co-op that would compete with them. Only the non-profit public option has the capacity to affect the Insurance Industry prices.

Because we have a for-profit Insurance Industry we pay approx. $4-6000 more per person than any other industrialized country, yet we don't have universal coverage and we are rated 37th as a nation for our Health Care (just above Costa Rica). The top 10 rated countries have universal coverage, require non-profit health care whether it's public or private sector, and have sustainable % of GDP. Our current % of GDP spent on Health Care is completely unsustainable.

Without a non-profit public option, the Insurance Industry will not lower costs, in fact it would increase the % of GDP that is already unsustainable. We are paying Billions for insurance industry advertising, exorbitant salaries, and billions more for the insurance industry to lobby against us to increase their profits and remove competition.

The Stock Market for the Insurance Companies SOARED at the idea the White House is willing to substitute Coops. The Blue Dogs are deceiving themselves and the public with this idea that a Coop can ever be a viable competitor. This is done at the expense of our citizens health and our nations solvency.

If we achieve the moral imperative without a non-profit public option, we will be forced to raise taxes to unacceptable levels, subsidize profits for the Insurance Industry, it will bankrupt our country and the Democrats will be blamed.