CBO: Public Option Would Reduce Premiums Across The Board

By GottaLaff

Winning arguments for a public option abound. If only the inept media would actually, you know, share them with viewers:

The CBO recently published a new letter on health care reform. They were asked to evaluate the impact of the weak (level playing field) public option in the Senate HELP committee's bill. Their conclusion was that the competitive pressure from the public option “would probably lower private premiums in the insurance exchanges to a small degree,” and with a public plan in the exchange “the costs and premiums of competing private plans would, on average, be slightly lower than if no public plan was available.” By reduce the cost of buying private insurance on the exchange, a public plan, “would tend to lower federal subsidy payments through the exchanges.” [...]

Progressives are not fighting for a public option for some purely ideological reason. They are fighting for it because Congress' own budget office concluded that even a weak public option would reduce the cost of health care reform and would save millions of Americans billions of dollars on their health insurance premiums, regardless if they select a private or public plan. A public option is both a smart and a very popular idea.

H/t: VNDNBRG