Healthcare Alternative

Democratic lawmakers are looking into a way to allow the government to contract a commercial insurer to give benefits to Americans who do not receive benefits through their work. The plan would also include and expansion of medicare that would allow more people access to the program. An article about the alternative plan from the Baltimore Sun reads;

The idea is that with federal oversight on behalf of consumers, the new plan would be more responsive to the needs of beneficiaries than are the private plans that would be offered by competing insurance companies.

At the same time, lawmakers are looking into how to allow Americans between 55 and 64 to buy into the Medicare program, which now primarily serves people 65 or older.

The Medicare expansion has long been a top priority of groups such as the AARP, and it has the backing of many liberal lawmakers, who see it as an extension of the federal government's most powerful existing public plan.

It is obvious that our healthcare system needs reform so that more Americans can afford healthcare. That is why it is important for the government to create more options for Americans and to make it easier for Americans to get healthcare benefits. Hopefully Washington will be able to find a solution that works for everyone with this alternative.