The public option debate, in hibernation since a public option was removed from health reform legislation in 2009, has reawakened. In July, Hillary Clinton and the Democratic party endorsed the idea of a launching a government-run plan to exert competitive pressure on private ones in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces. A nearly identical scheme exists in Medicare — with a little-known twist that may be the key to getting most of the public option’s benefits, with fewer of its political risks.
Read the rest in my latest post on the JAMA Forum.
