A Public Health Insurance Plan

It is time to finally achieve universal health insurance in America. The first president to try was Franklin Roosevelt, but the American Medical Association [AMA], the doctor's main lobby group that is opposed to reform, was able to block it in Congress. Truman tired and failed as well. Johnson: ditto. And so with Clinton.

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President Barack Obama has the perfect opportunity to finally be the president who secures the bodily well-being of Americans. First, public opinion is in support of universal coverage. Over 70% of Americans favor a public option akin to Medicaid and Medicare. Second, the economic crisis has focused heads that reforming health insurance in America will be a great boost to our economic efficiency. Third, there is Obama's own personal popularity and power of persuasion. And, fourthly, there is the large Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress.

It would be an unforgivable sin to his voters if Obama were to let the moment pass. Unfortunately, some Democrats are already arguing just that in a bid to placate the opposition coalition of insurance companies. Insurance companies fear a government plan will make them uncompetitive. And with good reason. America's insurance companies are the scum of the Earth. These are people who take money every month from their customers in an agreement that they will provide health insurance when needed. But whenever anyone of their customers actually needs coverage, that same insurer will try everything in the book to end up not offering coverage. They will claim, say, on false grounds a preexisting condition. Or find some other technicality. This is the American health insurance program. A network of insurers who take money but then try to find a way not to provide the service they are charging for. They are shameless and put America's through needless suffering. If they could have it their way, they would deny coverage for every client. And all to increase profit margins. What other business operates like this: selling a product and then reneging when its time to provide it? What nation tolerates such greed? It is a blight on America and puts into dispute our character that such a system exists. This is why we need a public option run in the name of service not profit. Peoples' health is too important to be left to the whims of businessmen.

The American people know the tricks of insurers and that is why they overwhelmingly back a public option. The insurers know their lists of clients will dry up if a better public option is available. That is why they are working to defeat it. Following their logic: they state that a public option will be bad for Americans, but then fear going into competition with it because Americans will supposedly sign up for this purported bad plan. Huh?

Picking up from early, instead of telling the shameless insurers where to get off, some so-called reforms are trying to placate them all in the name of the ostensible virtue of compromise.

The Economist reports that a bipartisan group led by former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who was supposed to run Obama's health care reform plan until he resigned for not paying taxes; suggests the idea of allowing "private insurers will be given five years to establish universal coverage. If they fail, the president would be obliged to submit a public plan proposal to Congress for speedy consideration."

This is the worse plan. As outlined above, this is the moment. Five years? What are these people thinking? In five years, the momentum could be all but lost to the great loss of the American people and the great benefit, yet again, of greedy doctors and insurers.

We need a public option now!