Public Option Health Insurance Plan Would Only Cover 2%

With all the controversy over the public option proposed by Democrats in their healthcare reform bills, the number of Americans who will actually be covered by the public option is surprisingly low. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi estimates that just six million (2%)  of the population under 65 years of age will choose the government run health insurance program. One out of five individuals who are buying insurance on their own or in a small group (and will participate in the insurance exchanges central to the House’s bill. would take the public option. The most important issue that has been lost in the debate is providing affordable health insurance to the nation, whatever form it takes.

The public plan might not be the panacea to increased health care costs its supporters claim it will be. The people most likely to be attracted to it will be those with pre-existing conditions private insurers are less likely to cover. Therefore, average health insurance quotes would be cheaper with a private plan, steering the healthier segment of the population away from the public option. Less stringent regulations that allow the less healthy to use more medical services and see more specialists would also drive up costs. (Private insurance companies sometimes limit their offerings based on profitability.)

All in all, the public option doesn’t seem to be as far-reaching as first expected, at least for now. Most Americans will continue to have health coverage through their employers. Senior citizens already have Medicare. What about the masses of low-income uninsured individuals and families? It turns out that most of them will be covered through Medicaid, another government program that will be expanded.

(Image: Speaker Pelosi under CC 2.0)