After considering arguments in favor and against a public option, I determined that it has the potential to benefit me and the country as a whole. Assuming the dependents in my family do not become eligible for an existing government healthcare program, I need to purchase them health coverage through individual markets and a less-expensive public option seems very appealing to me. In addition to affordability, a public option can effectively compete with the growing health insurance monopolies, including the plan I receive through my employer, and push them to provide better services and coverage. If the public option offers more attractive plans, my employer may even decide to buy-in. In response to Progressives’ arguments, I am more concerned …show more content…
A healthcare system can be evaluated in three main categories: costs, quality, access. The U.S. healthcare is widely considered to underperform in each of these categories. While measuring the quality of a healthcare system is complex, U.S. still comes up short in various aspects including life expectancy and efficiency. [7] [8] The U.S. spends almost 18% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care. In perspective, this number is “almost 50% more than the next-highest spender (France, 11.6% of GDP) and almost double what was spent in the U.K. (8.8%).” [6] Factoring the country’s population, in 2014 U.S. spent $9,403 per capita, while France and the UK spent $4,959 and $3,935 respectively. Yet, 9% of Americans don’t have any health insurance while France and the UK both have a universal healthcare. [9] Affordable Care Act greatly improved access, but has not had a significant impact on the costs and quality of care. The healthcare spending in U.S. is still overwhelmingly high and for any policy – including the addition of a public option – to be beneficial, it needs to be incorporated in a comprehensive reform that brings the healthcare costs under