Prairie Fire Journal

You've probably seen the ads or heard the Republicans repeat the lie that 119 million Americans will lose their private health insurance if the government is allowed to offer a public option in the insurance market. This number comes from a report published by the Lewin Group back in April. But contrary to the lies being circulated by Republicans, the report doesn't say that 119 million Americans will lose their private health insurance if a public option is made available. Here's what it does say:

"If the public plan is opened to all employers as proposed by Senators Clinton and Edwards, at Medicare payment levels we estimate that about 131.2 million people would enroll in the public plan. The number of people with private health insurance would decline by 119.1 million people. This would be a two-thirds reduction in the number of people with private coverage (currently 170 million people)." [The Cost and Coverage Impacts of a Public Plan: Alternative Design Options, Page 1.]

You can read the report in pdf format here.

The truth is, that given the choice of a public option as outlined in the above quote, Americans would overwhelmingly dump their private coverage in favor of the public plan. The Republicans' primary concern is about protecting the private insurance companies, not about providing affordable healthcare to all Americans. When it comes to real choice, most Americans have no qualms about getting rid of private health insurance. The Republicans are simply liars and shills for the insurance industry.