Fallback Public Plan: Does It Have Legs?

This post originally appeared on The Finance Buff.

This from today’s Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report:

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) last week held a private meeting to discuss a compromise on health care reform legislation that would include a “fallback public plan,” implemented in several years if private insurers do not take steps to make coverage more affordable and accessible, CongressDaily reports. The plan is modeled on the Medicare prescription drug benefit, under which the government can offer prescription drug benefits if private insurers choose not to do so. The government currently does not offer a Medicare Part D directly plan because a sufficient number of private firms have done so.

As I wrote in a previous post, it sounds like a good idea to me. It is far too early to tell but it is not inconceivable that this is the necessary compromise. We shall see.

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