The Public Option

Every time I see this mentioned, and it seems to be a hot topic on the right and the left, I want to ask what do you mean? The public option that has been proposed so far is limited to people who cannot get coverage. Varying versions have it paying Medicare rates or bargaining like insurance companies do. If co-ops or some other plan will provide coverage for these people, why does it matter if the government does it directly? The biggest problem I see with the whole approach we have so far is that it leaves so much of the current system intact. But it also appears that even getting this little bit done is difficult. Eliminating preexisting conditions and recission of contracts in itself will do much good. Sometimes when I ask the question, people say Medicare for everyone, Medicare Part E if you will. Private insurance will still be around to cover stuff Medicare doesn't. But other countries manage quite well by requiring insurance companies to offer not-for-profit basic plans. And people choose which plan they want. In Germany, these plans also cover the aged. There is no Medicare. So why is a public option so important, positively or negatively?