273234 Public option after the ACA

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 10:50 AM - 11:10 AM

Ramon Castellblanch , Health Education, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
     
One alternative to relying on private insurers to provide medical coverage discussed extensively during the enactment of the ACA was establishing public insurers to fill the role in a policy that was called the public option. While the ACA ultimately did not provide for a public option, it allows states to enact their own. States like Washington and Oregon have followed up on this provision. Also in California, counties that administer their own Medicaid programs have shown an interest in establishing public options. In addition to public options, the ACA authorized states to set up basic health plans that would function as public options, but be limited to covering low-income residents. This presentation will discuss how states have been working to establish public options and basic health plans in the wake of the ACA.

Learning Areas:
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Describe status of the development of basic health plans to provide medical insurance in the exchanges.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As a consultant for AFSCME in 2007, I designed the basic public option policy currently under discussion in California.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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