Public health insurance option

The public health insurance option, also known as the public insurance option or the public option, is a proposal to create a government-run health insurance agency that would compete with other private health insurance companies within the United States. The public option is not the same as publicly funded health care, but was proposed as an alternative health insurance plan offered by the government. The public option was initially proposed for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but was removed after the independent US senator for Connecticut Joe Lieberman threatened a filibuster.[1][2]

As a result, Congress did not include the public option in the bill passed under reconciliation. The public option was later supported by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party in the 2016 and 2020 elections and multiple other Democratic candidates, including the current President, Joe Biden.[3][4]

  1. ^ Lieberman: I'll block vote on Reid plan, By Manu Raju, Politico.com, 10/27/09
  2. ^ Helen A. Halpin; Peter Harbage (June 2010). "The Origins And Demise Of The Public Option". Health Aff (Millwood). 29 (6): 1117–1124. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0363. PMID 20530340.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Gabriel, Trip (June 23, 2019). "'Medicare for All' vs. 'Public Option': The 2020 Field Is Split, Our Survey Shows". New York Times. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.