Open Left

I think the absolutely key issue

in any public option is whether it introduces a slippery slope whereby, over time, more and more of the public will plunk down for the public option over private options. That, of course, will happen only if the public option is so defined that it can exploit the natural advantages such options should enjoy: lower overhead; no obligation to impose a profit; the ability to negotiate down the price with health care providers, device manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies. Insofar as a public plan is stripped of these advantages, the likelihood that the public plan might bring about single payer goes down dramatically, perhaps to a vanishing point.

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by: frankly0 @ Mon May 11, 2009 at 16:24:40 PM CDT