To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Add a Public Option to the Affordable Care Act
The primary flaw with The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the lack of a public option to purchase health insurance without being forced to add to the profits of private health insurance companies.
The government should organize a "Federal Health Insurance Corporation" along the lines of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (for banks) to provide health insurance. Premiums should be set just high enough to cover the costs of providing benefits and adjusted regularly. This would make the F.H.I.C. revenue neutral, yet would provide significant savings for those who elect to purchase health insurance through this public option.
The government should organize a "Federal Health Insurance Corporation" along the lines of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (for banks) to provide health insurance. Premiums should be set just high enough to cover the costs of providing benefits and adjusted regularly. This would make the F.H.I.C. revenue neutral, yet would provide significant savings for those who elect to purchase health insurance through this public option.
Why is this important?
We need to do everything possible to control the cost of health care. Even with reductions mandated by the Affordable Care Act, private, for-profit health insurance companies add 15-20% to the cost of health care in the United States of America without adding anything in terms of quality or quantity of health care. This compares to the 3% overhead of the Medicare program.