A little socialism is a good thing. (For Class)

I think everyone is aware of the fight for and against the public option. For those who are unaware, the public option is a program, much like Medicare, that operates by the amount that people pay into it (Flanagan). This acts as competition to the private insurance companies, and allows for more diversity within the system. The program, unlike the private insurers, would be held accountable to the public.
Private insurers are held to the demands of their stockholders, which in turn causes the company to run with a focus on profit. This is a system built to fail, as it provides incentives for the company to find any way to save money. In the insurance realm, this means not covering those who are already paying into the system. In normal competition, the need to provide a profit usually results in better products, as the companies compete for the money of the customer. In the health insurance industry, however, those some drives cause the companies to find ways to screw the customer, as it is simply cheaper not to cover the costs that the customer causes when the customer gets sick. Competition, in this case, reduces the quality of the product.
This would not be such a problem if there was more competition. There is, however, very little competition, as in each state there are only one or two health insurance companies, and usually only one available through any single business. This lack of option is another reason why the costs of health insurance is so high relative to the coverage it provides.
A public option thus would provide more diversity in the health insurance industry, and would allow for lower prices, thus people would be able to join it in larger numbers. It would also limit the number of times that the companies would drop people for inane reasons, because the customers would leave in droves for the public option. There is little reason not to have a public option, other than the insurance companies would suffer in their ridiculous profit margins.
I would argue for a harder line version. A single payer system, in which everyone is covered through a government run health care system. No one would be dropped, no extra money would be spent on lobbyists. With so many people suffering because they do not have health insurance, or have been dropped from their health insurance, there is very little reason for thereto not be a system that covers everyone. In other cases, such as fire fighters and police, there is very little argument for privatized industries for those areas. This is because such things are essential to the health and safety of the populous, and it is ridiculous that a person’s health is not to be considered as essential as those other institutions. Why do people have to die, just because they couldn’t afford to live?

Flanagan, Jerry. "What does the "public" in "public option" really mean? - Consumer Watchdog." Consumer Watchdog: Home. 31 Mar. 2009. Web. 01 Nov. 2009. .