De Facto Public Plan

There has been talk about scrapping the "public option" in the current Senate bill with the "compromise" of extending Medicare/Medicaid coverage. Let's try to suspend disbelief for a moment and forget the fact that these programs are already speeding towards bankruptcy, inefficient, and one of the main causes of increasing health care costs. One suggestion was to increase Medicaid coverage to 300% of the poverty level. What is 300% of poverty level, you ask?

From the HHS:

The 2009 Poverty Guidelines for the
48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia

Persons in family	Poverty guideline	300% of Poverty
1	$10,830	$32,490
2	$14,570	$43,710
3	$18,310	$54,930
4	$22,050	$66,150
5	$25,790	$77,370
6	$29,530	$88,590
7	$33,270	$99,810
8	$37,010	$111,030

A 2007 study from the Tax Foundation reveals that nearly 50% of all Americans fall within 300% of the poverty level. Add a reduction of eligibility age for Medicare, and you see that a compromise of this sort removes the "public option" in name only.

“Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget that the state wants to live at the expense of everyone.” - Frederic Bastiat