Another Basis for a Public Option

If some sort of "public option" does not survive in the U.S. national health care reform bill, it will not be the end of the dream. The idea will live on, the need will continue, and ways will be found to achieve it.

Seeds for some form of national public option already exist. We have Medicare and Medicaid. We have a national system of government-run clinics providing health care to our veterans. And we have a national program of government-administered health care coverage for Federal employees, in which private health insurers negotiate with the U.S. government regarding costs and benefits.

There is another potential seed for national health care coverage, at least where I live. In my county we have a public health department which performs many medical services [soon to include dental], and we also have a not-for-profit health care provider serving rural areas. Perhaps such state, county, and rural public health care providers could be subsidized, improved and integrated into a national plan to ensure that adequate and complete health coverage is accessible to all U.S. citizens.

If it proves to be politically impossible to get a public option now, let us seize what we can from this opportunity and prepare ourselves for the next one. Sic Semper Progressivatis!

Alex Budarin