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The Return of the Public Option and Its Implications for Healthcare’s Future

This 90 minute webinar eatures a panel of experts discusses the future of the public option in the U.S. healthcare system. Faculty includes John Baackes, CEO, L.A. Care Health Plan, Liz Hagan, Director of Policy Solutions, United States of Care, and Richard M. Scheffler, Professor of Health Economics, UC Berkeley. 

Although a public option health plan was stricken from the Affordable Care Act shortly before it was enacted in 2010, the idea never went away. Both Washington State and Colorado offer public option health plans on their ACA-compliant exchanges. A dozen more states – including healthcare influencers such as Minnesota and Nevada – either plan to offer public option plans on their exchanges, or are closely studying the situation.

Although the public option plans are different as originally conceived for the ACA, they still follow the same principal of a health plan with premiums and benefits closely regulated by the state government, with the intent of offering premiums lower than those offered by commercial payers.

Washington and Colorado’s experiences with the public option have had their share of teething pains, but regulators in both states are determined to offer such coverage for the foreseeable future. And with many other states potentially offering public option plans soon, this concept could not only be reborn and rejuvenated, but exert tremendous influence on healthcare delivery and payment in the future.

This session discusses:

  • A brief history of the public option and why it has made a comeback
  • What the public option looks like in Colorado and Washington State and what has been accomplished to date
  • Issues with the new public option plans
  • Which states are considering public option plans and their motivations
  • The benefit and premium structure of public option plans
  • How commercial payers are responding to – and participating in – public option coverage
  • How hospitals, medical groups and other providers are responding to public option plans
  • The structure and offerings of future public option plans