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I ignored Sean Mahoney's GOP boilerplate op-ed on health reform last August. But now that he's thinking of representing you and me in the US Senate, the least I can do to help him is to ask that he get his facts straight on the public option.
Sean Mahoney:
Of course, the reason the government plan will be allowed to offer lower premiums is that it will be subsidized by taxpayers.
Think about that. The more successful the government option is at "competing" with private insurers, the more burdensome it will be on hardworking taxpayers. I suppose we can take solace in the fact that most government programs fail utterly.
President Barack Obama:
Despite all this, the insurance companies and their allies don't like this idea. They argue that these private companies can't fairly compete with the government. And they'd be right if taxpayers were subsidizing this public insurance option. But they won't be. I've insisted that like any private insurance company, the public insurance option would have to be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects. But by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private companies by profits and excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it could provide a good deal for consumers, and would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities.
Of course, since Mahoney is convinced the government programs "fail utterly," the President's apt comparison of the public option to public colleges makes me wonder about Mahoney's view of the University of New Hampshire. But I digress.
