President Barack Obama yesterday urged Congress to reconsider offering a government-run health insurance option alongside private plans on the exchanges created as part of his national healthcare law.
In an article published in the online edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Obama said the Affordable Care Act had made much progress toward improving access to healthcare and the quality and affordability of care.
Many Republicans fiercely oppose the law saying it has raised health coverage costs for Americans and have tried repeatedly to repeal it in Congress.Obama said several challenges remain.
“Now, based on experience with the ACA, I think Congress should revisit a public plan to compete alongside private insurers in areas of the country where competition is limited,” the president wrote.
Public programs like Medicare often deliver care more cost effectively by curtailing administrative overhead and securing better prices from providers, Obama said.
Republicans and some Democrats opposed the inclusion of a government-run plan similar to Medicare in the original Obamacare law, and the so-called “public option” did not make it into the final legislation.
Since the ACA became law, the uninsured rate has declined to 9.1 percent in 2015 from 16 % in 2010. Most enrollees live in counties with at least three policy issuers, which helps keep down costs, Obama said.