Republicans and Red Dog Democrats are fighting hard against a public option, often arguing that government needs to stand back and 'let the markets work.' Let's explore this argument.
Government has been standing back for decades, and 'the market' for health insurance has given our country 47 million uninsured Americans. Albert Einstein shared one definition of insanity as repeatedly doing the same thing again and expecting a different outcome.
Government standing back leaves insurance companies able to serve their only master, their shareholders. Their shareholders expect management to maximize profits. For an insurance company to maximize profits, they need to drop sick customers, and to reject all applications from those who aren't currently very healthy and expected to remain very healthy.
Markets work when there are willing buyers and sellers. A grocery store is a market. Anyone can come in, and purchase a box of Corn Flakes for a set price (the same price for every customer). That's a market. How can you call it a market when an insurance company selects who can buy its policies and who cannot (the industry calls this 'underwriting', which is the process of figuring out which applicants to reject). Health insurance that involves underwriting is not a market, and does not work, or at least health insurance that involves underwriting does not meet society's need for affordable health coverage for our citizens.
What health insurance market is working? That would be the market where the insurance companies pay our Senators and Representatives for their votes, and our Senators and Representatives happily sell their votes and support in exchange for the contributions. Willing buyers and sellers. That is the market that Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats want to maintain.