Sez CBO:

"...[the public option] would probably engage in less management of utilization by its enrollees and attract a less healthy pool of enrollees..."

As Jesus Christ once said, "Duh." Why is this news? Seriously, nobody realized this before? Seemed obvious to me all along. It's why I never could understand why any of the insurers were worried about the public option throwing them outta business, the thing's gotta mountain to climb. The only worry is that the politicians would throw tax dollars (or more correctly, borrowed Chinese dollars) to keep afloat a troubled public option, increasing the deficit.

The reason is that the private insurers know that the pledge that the public option will be self-sufficient is a crock.

Well, of course. Why they're not trumpeting that certainty seems bizarre.

Another reason is that the public option as written will just become the dumping ground for the private carriers of every bad risk on their rolls.

If we have to give up on the public option, let;s at least compel apportionment of the bad risks among the private sector, forbid recission or denial of coverage (except, say, for fraud) and set premiums based on income and family size. Is that price control? You bet. And it's necessary because the private sector has no control.

Right...but the reason the private insurers don't like the idea is that OBVIOUSLY the public option will quickly go bankrupt, at which point there will be two options: abandon it, or switch to single-payer. Which do you think will happen?

And it's necessary because the private sector has no control.

How does this argument not apply to other things the private sector sells, like bread and clothes?

People are slightly more able to make good decisions about bread and clothes. Their need for them is regular, not statical and catastrophic. They also have at least slightly reasonable spending habits. When it comes to healthcare people spend far more than they need to.

hyperionred:

Right...but the reason the private insurers don't like the idea is that OBVIOUSLY the public option will quickly go bankrupt, at which point there will be two options: abandon it, or switch to single-payer. Which do you think will happen?

Bingo.