Group Health Insurance May Go National
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According to the article, 57% of polled Americans now support the idea of a public option for health care, especially if it's restricted to those who can't afford individual health insurance. And a surprising 71% support the notion of a health care mandate that would control costs much like group health insurance plans do today.
Group health insurance has historically been less expensive and easier to get because the larger numbers of insured people offset the costs for the insurance company. To simplify things a bit, the premiums paid by the healthy pay for the costs accrued by those who aren't healthy.
If everyone in the U.S. had to purchase insurance, similar rules would apply. In fact, one of the major reasons that health care costs have become so high is that young and healthy people often don't purchase insurance until they get sick. This means that insurance companies have a vested interest in keeping those with pre-existing conditions out of the ranks of the insured.
Of course, there's also much concern over the definition of "pre-existing conditions" according to insurance companies. Many of them see simple procedures, minor illnesses, and even pregnancy as a "pre-existing condition," and punish buyers accordingly.
This is why government oversight is also important in terms of health care legislation. Having a nationwide group health insurance plan would be a great way to lower costs, but only so long as insurance companies aren't allowed to unfairly reject those Americans who need coverage the most.