Option 5/6, I support a free public option, I support healthcare competition though.
I'm curious as to how you would support healthcare competition while using a free public option. Is there a model out there you can point at?
presumably the free public option would be a bare bones package, while private insurance competes among the rich and middle-class for special deals that allow customers to stay in the swankiest of hospitals and get assurances of lower waiting times etc. Most UHC countries have significant private insurance niches, although it often ends with ghastly situations like South Africa, where apartheid lives on in the differences between the public and private healthcare systems.
That's what I was wondering about. Was NeverAgain suggesting automatic Medicaid enrollment for all with opt outs to better packages offered by private insurance? That would seem to enhance class differences for a UHC system.
If it is going to be a UHC with private insurers, I think the better way would be to have a payroll deduction like Medicare to fund a pool, but instead of a government payer (ie Medicaid) everyone gets to select a private insurance plan at something like the ACA bronze level. Individuals can optionally purchase added coverage from their insurance provider. There are still class differences but they aren't as dramatic as a Medicaid vs private system.
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