Information on the public option, why we need it health care reform, and information about the history of health care in the U.S. and other countries.

2. The Beveridge Model

3. The Bismarck Model

4. The National Health Insurance Model

5. The Out-of-Pocket Model

6. IV.The History of Health Care in the United States

7. Beginning to the Baylor Plan

8. The Birth of Blue Cross

9. Medicaid and Medicare

10. SCHIP and Medicare Part D

11. Our Current Quandary

12. V.Current Reform Proposals Being Considered

13. Obama's Plan With an National Insurance Exchange

14. The Public Option

15. VI.What Is the Public Option?

16. VII.Pros and Cons of the Public Option

18. There would be more people paying

19. into the program, which would drive

20. premium prices down (Torrey,

21. 2009).

22. No Profit Margin or Tax Liability

23. Plan funds would have federal or state funds to pay for them, therefore would not require rate hikes to increase profitability, as governments

24. are non-profit entities. Also, because they would not make a profit from premiums, they would not be

25. subject to taxation (Torrey, 2009).

26. The Cons of a Public Option

27. Private Insurance Companies Would Go Out of Business

28. With such a large, profitable group to compete with, insurance companies fear

29. they could not afford to keep providing current levels of service to their customers and still pay their investors (Torrey, 2009).

30. Lower Payments to Providers

31. Some physicians now refuse to take

32. Medicaid patients because they do not get reimbursed enough for their services

33. from the government. With another public program, they worry that they

34. Bargaining Power

35. Insurance companies would have to compete with public funded programs for customers. Having a large group to contend with would force private companies to keep the cost of premiums down, and give customers better deals to stay competitive (Torrey, 2009).

36. Portability

37. A public option would make it possible for an individual to change jobs or move and keep their insurance coverage.

38. Depending on whether it is federally

39. or state funded, one could go anywhere in their state or the country and stay

40. covered with this type of plan (Torrey, 2009).will receive even less payment for services. (Torrey, 2009). Not all doctors enjoy high wages, some rural doctors

41. make just enough to get by.

42. A Single-Payer System Might Emerge