I would like the country to have a look at the current federal employee arrangement. If we are already paying into that, and it works(they want to keep it)..would it work to expand it out to the rest of us? This is a system we should have data on. Costs should go down with the pool broadened. We could have some regulation to reduce nasties like unreasonable pre-existing penalties and use of trivial application errors for policy cancellation.
I guess I have read, heard and experienced too much that suggests a public option would (due to subsidy) crowd out private plans leaving in place a Medicare for all system which sounds great until realizing it is unlikely sustainable without the current cost shifting to private plans, huge debt or rationing. Note how the CBO analysis has been totally ignored by proponents.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...071602242.html
Medicare reimbursement to oncologists (and cardiologists) is already targeted for lowering. The hope pinned on increased use of primary care is hindered by a shortage of PC physicians.
I do think the "death panel" hysteria is a distraction from the larger picture and that there are plenty of reformable aspects of our current system.