Can you admit that, at least initially, the options offered are more than just a "government plan"?

Yes, the marketplace will be set up by the government, but the majority of the options offered are from private companies. It's like the farmer's market. The government pays rent on the land where the farmers can come and sell their products, but it's still the farmers making sales.

Also, it's important to note, providers are not required to accept all insurance plans, just like they're currently not required to accept all insurance plans, including Medicare. People would then be forced to get reimbursed directly, and, if they didn't like the reimbursement amount, they would be free to change plans.


Businesses with a payroll under $250,000 are exempted from both requirements, and businesses with a payroll under $400,000 are not required to pay as much. Given that this is only an issue for companies that don't currently provide insurance, and companies that don't provide insurance almost universally have low-wage employees, a $250,000 payroll is likely equivalent to at least eight employees (twice minimum wage at 2000 hours a year).


It's not free. It still has to be paid for.

That said, I'm unclear on how businesses are intended to interact with the insurance exchange. My guess is that they can choose as many plans as they want to provide to employees. Since they're required to contribute a certain percentage of the premiums, they might choose not to include more expensive plans.