# What is Obama's Healthcare Plan in layman's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 5, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-obamas-healthcare-plan-in-laymans/508931 "2009-09-05T01:46:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-obamas-healthcare-plan-in-laymans/508931/21 "2009-09-07T05:43:44Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Which they can’t. The government program can operate at a loss and survive on deficit spending whereas the private companies must have a model that generates profits. The government program will win every time and run the private insurers out of business. We’ve had a government-owned health insurer competing with the private ones in Australia for over 20 years. The private insurers are still doing just fine. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-obamas-healthcare-plan-in-laymans/508931/22 "2009-09-07T06:05:27Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Which they can’t. The government program can operate at a loss and survive on deficit spending whereas the private companies must have a model that generates profits. The government program will win every time and run the private insurers out of business. > > Now, you may think that is wonderful, but lets frame the debate in terms of socialized medicine v. private system instead of pretending that “people can keep the coverage that they currently have”. If the government _wanted_ to run the private insurers out of business by drastically underpricing their insurance, I suppose they probably could. But given that the vast majority on both sides of the healthcare reform debate _don’t_ want this, what makes you so confident it will happen? Surely these people are intelligent enough to say “Wow, it looks like the private insurers are really struggling, I guess we need to raise our prices a bit.” Or is your thesis basically that Obama and the Congressional Democrats are all liars who secretly want socialized medicine even when they say they don’t? ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-obamas-healthcare-plan-in-laymans/508931/23 "2009-09-07T07:07:12Z")
> [@TheScogg](#): > > I would still kill to have good coverage I’m not the hijacking type, but I just have to point out how funny this sentence is. What would YOU do for health care? Why, I’d KILL for it! ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-obamas-healthcare-plan-in-laymans/508931/24 "2009-09-07T16:04:48Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > So what coverage does congress get, and why is it inexpensive? This part I don’t get. I imagine they’d have very comprehensive, expensive coverage. Moreover, are you saying hat insurance companies charge premiums considerably in excess of what they pay out? Or else how would their prices be lowered? I would imagine there is some selection bias involved with Congressional health coverage being relatively cheap - if you have an expensive, chronic illness, then you probably wouldn’t be running for Congress in the first place. And plenty of people wouldn’t vote for someone who could keel over any minute if you did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-obamas-healthcare-plan-in-laymans/508931.md?page=1)