Americans like to believe we have choices. Nice, but not always reasonable.

The Public Option, a plan where one can keep the health coverage they have or obtain government insurance if they want, has been touted as the best “compromise” between a Single Payer System and that of our current absurd free market system. A Single Payer Plan, in contrast, allows everyone to get health care from one insurer run by the government (similar to Canada). The problem is, our current dysfunctional system needs far more than just a compromise.

The Public Option still leaves profit-driven insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies in charge of tweaking everything. This year alone, private insurers will take in more than $200 billion than they pay out. With their immense lobbying clout, they easily create ways to undermine regulations that help rein in their abuses. They could also use their power to hassle the sickest until they leave and cherry-pick for those who need little care, in addition to raising payments at will. And adding Public Option to our already over-loaded paper system would complicate things even more for institutions and physicians and increase risk of duplicity of charges under more added systems. Neither does Public Option do anything to decrease overhead costs, doctors charging high billings, administrative costs, CEO salaries and shareholder profits.

Yes, Single Payer would be paid for by we taxpayers (my entire social security check already goes out for Medicare premiums, medical insurance premiums and drug insurance premiums. But Single Payer would do far more to drain our health care swamp.