FixHealthCarePolicy

Perhaps the most controversial piece of Democrats’ health reform proposals is a new government-run (or “public”) health program. The plan would be offered nationwide and would be modeled after Medicare. Democrats argue that a public plan would give consumers another choice when purchasing insurance. The public plan, they claim, would inject competition into private insurance markets. Public plan supporters also argue that the plan would be designed to have low administrative costs, zero profits, and the ability to negotiate with suppliers, all of which would supposedly help control rising health costs.

However, analysts at The Heritage Foundation have cut through this political rhetoric and exposed the many dangers in the public plan proposal that Democrats are failing to mention:

• Illusions of Cost Control in Public Health Care Plans

• Why a New Public Plan Will Not Improve American Health Care

• Impact of the American Affordable Choices Act of 2009