Obama ridicules health insurers for their concern about public health plan - MedCity Morning Read, June 24, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an effort to keep control of the health care reform debate, President Barack Obama on Tuesday ridiculed critics of hisÂ government-run health care plan saying private insurers have nothing to fear if they are efficient and consumer-friendly, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best-quality health care — if they tell us they’re offering a good deal — then why is it that government, which they say can’t run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? Obama asked during an early afternoonÂ news conference, according to the L.A. Times. “That’s not logical.”

At the same time, the president left the door open to compromise with health insurers that have legitimate gripes about not being on the same competitive playing field as the federal government. He said a public plan would create more competition in the health insurance market, acting as a brake on rising insurance premiums and become an “important tool to discipline insurance companies,” according to the New York Times.

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Obama framed his proposed government plan as a way to break the cycle of ever-increasing medical costs that has sapped the financial strength of families and the government, the L.A. Times said. At the same time, he stopped short of saying he would not sign health care legislation that failed to include a federal health insurance option.

Meanwhile, in a letter to senators on Tuesday, the two largest health insurance industry groups warned that a government plan would take over the system. America’s Health Insurance Plans and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association also said they don’t believe it’s possible to design a government plan that can compete fairly with private insurers in an overhauled health care system, according to the Associated Press.

“A government-run plan no matter how it is initially structured would dismantle employer-based coverage, significantly increase costs for those who remain in private coverage, and add additional liabilities to the federal budget,” the insurers wrote in their letter, the AP said.

Nonetheless, recent polls have found strong public support for the idea. That has emboldened liberals to say the government shouldn’t compromise on such a plan, the AP said. But moderate Democrats in the senate are trying to get Republicans to support non-profit cooperatives as an alternative.