How can we control skyrocketing health care costs?

“The Case for Public Plan Choice in National Health Reform: Key to Cost Control and Quality Coverage,” a report by the Institute for America’s Future and the UC Berkeley School of Law’s Center on Health, Economic & Family Security, says a public health insurance plan like Medicare offered together with private health plans could result in $1 trillion in national savings over ten years by driving down costs, improving efficiencies and fostering innovation.

The report by health care expert and UC Berkeley professor Jacob Hacker, makes three main points:

1. Public health insurance outperforms private insurance in controlling costs while maintaining access and benefits—even when compared with private plans that are regulated to ensure broad coverage.


2. Public insurance has also made major strides in quality improvement, and a new public plan working with Medicare alongside private plans would be able to make much greater strides in the future.


3. A competing public plan is essential to set a benchmark for private plans, providing a “check and balance” that ensures private plans, as well as the public plan, uphold high standards.

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