>You need to decide whether you object because a government option will reduce choice by outcompeting and wiping out private insurers or whether you object because a government option will be like the USPS vs UPS/Fedex. You can't have it both ways.

??? The government option cannot "outcompete" because it doesn't play by the same rules, it literally makes them up as it goes along. Just like Fannie, Freddie, medicare, Amtrak and the post office. If they go broke Congress simply prints more money, they dictate price via mandate and they change the rules year-to-year based upon the whim of those in power. If Congress tomorrow decides that the post office should char

ge less for packages to "compete" with FedEx and UPS they will print more money, pass legislation and drive UPS/FedEx from the market.

>If you want to object to the proposal, why not focus on guarantees about keeping your own plan or existing insurance, or the issues Tracy H has raised regarding qualifying plans and the requirement to move to one if anything in your current plan changes.

Why should I limit my focus to the current plans? They are awful and go in exactly the wrong direction for true reform. All 3 plans advocate some form of governmental expansion into health care. I want the exact opposite and have posted a couple alternative proposals.

>Government can set the qualifying standards but the legislation doesn't control what insurers or employers may offer during the five years they have to comply.

The new legislation mandates several items for insurers to be allowed to "compete". The big one being all applicants must be accepted regardless of pre-existing conditions.

>As it stands you may indeed be forced to change plans even if something as small as your co-pay changes, which happens every year in many plans. Theoretically an insurer could employ such a stratagem to eliminate benefits by forcing unprofitable policyholders onto other plans or even fire them by not rushing to qualify. Not as easy to express as a critical soundbite, but a 100% valid objection IMHO.

If I haven't been clear I am not a fan of our current system and I want greater control over my care. Every one of the current legislative plans does the opposite.