I have questions about any public option. . .

Currently I pay $350 a month for my husband and me for Blue Cross PPO ($250 per person deductible). In addition, we pay $550/month for long term health care. Annually, we have about $20,000 out of pocket between premiums, deductibles, and non-paid expenses (which I claim on my taxes).

I am currently taking care of my in-laws' finances and see that in addition to Medicare (which is taken out of their Social Security), they also pay for Medicare Part D ($24/month) and they have supplemental Blue Cross for about $250/month for both. Other than their senior facility which costs $$6k a month (luckily they have the money), they have no health-care costs (and part of that is tax deductible). My parents only have Madicare (A&B) and D when it was made available -- they have no other supplementary insurance.

So my question is, what will a public option (even expanded Medicare) cost me and what will it cover? Will it cover long-term care? Will I still have to get supplemental insurance? What about meds?

I'm all for a public option, especially one that drops the issue of pre-existing, but if it's not done right, will be be any good??

Thanks

You as the consumer would have the option of selecting one of them. At least that is my understanding of it.

You got to get through the firewall before you can even consider those other questions. Most Americans will not have the option of the "public option" accordingly to early drafts

but I hope we will have the public option. I don't think there has been enough time to develop the details of this. I'm assuming (hoping) the public option will be cheaper as far as monthly premiums go and that it will cover everyone who wants to be in on it.

Medicaid does, once you have exhausted all monies--and I mean all. This is what happens to many people who enter a skilled nursing facility: eventually, their savings dwindle down to nothing. At that point, your social security is signed over and Medicaid will pick up the difference in the nursing home cost.

Is your BC/BS an individual (i.e., non-employer sponsored) plan? If so, that is pretty cheap for a low-deductible plan.

And it never seems to be part of the debate.

Private LTC insurance plans are not very good, nor do they cover much of the population.

And Medicaid covers only the very poor, and often doesn't do it very well. The best coverage under Medicaid is home-and-community-based care under waiver programs; but that is very limited, and way underfunded. For example, in Texas, HCB is so underfunded that the average wait on the waiting list is in years. And, again, with Medicaid, one must start out in poverty or become impoverished ('spend down') to even be eligible. Nevertheless, the demand for Medicaid is so strong that it is busting many states' budgets, already being or becoming the major expenditure in state budgets, moving ahead of K-12 education.

If a good health insurance reform plan were to pass, this country would still be in trouble with regard to long-term care.