Most Americans Support A Government Healthcare Program

A new poll from the New York Times and CBS News published on Saturday shows that 72% of Americans support a government-administered insurance plan similar to Medicare for those under 65 that would compete for customers with the private sector. Twenty percent said they were opposed.

As an economic issue, this is a little surprising. I also support a government administered health care insurance program, but I thought there would be more support for the "free market" from most conservatives and Republicans.

72% is a pretty strong number in favor of a public option that will compete with private insurance. To me, it means that many people in this country don't want the "free market" to determine who gets health insurance and how it is administered. I agree with this because the free market says that poor people don't have enough "value" to see a doctor. I also agree with this because the free market tells health insurance companies to collect as many premium payments as possible while using any legal means necessary to pay out as little as possible in actual health coverage.

As with most things, I think the free market perfroms very well for people with money. However, I don't think the health of our nation should be determined according to economic values alone. Other values need to be considered. Including long-term economic values that often don't factor into the short term decisions of the private health insurance companies.

I support a public healthcare option and I hope you will too. I don't support a complete government takeover of healthcare, but having a public insurance program will allow more people to get the coverage they need while still being able to choose their own doctors and providers based on quality, performance, and location.