It's not your decision: Public option

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - "When everybody's in the public option, the government's going to control care," Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) said. "How are they going to do that? They're going to control costs by rationing care."

Shimkus said a government run public option in the health care bill will lead to folks' worst fears of rationed care.

Other lawmakers said it'll be just one option once coverage is mandatory.

"I support the public option, and it's just that, it's an option," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said. "If people don't want to buy the not-for-profit insurance plan, they don't have to."

But Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) said eventually the public option won't offer folks any other choice.

"I'm not in favor of the public option because I believe that, despite all the protests, that inevitably is the first part of a series of actions that will lead to it being the only option," Lugar said.

Shimkus agreed, saying cost cuts to private insurers will drive them out of business, leaving folks with no choice but to turn to the government.

"Then you have one insurer, and it's the federal government," Shimkus said. "And so then we tie in, it's what's called comparative effectiveness, which is going to help educate people on the best quality care for the lowest cost. This is what happened in the British health system, and that's the system that now rations care."

Shimkus said health care is a responsibility the government is not equipped to handle.

"We don't have enough docs, we don't have enough general practitioners," Shimkus said. "Our nurses, CNAs, you name it, we don't have them."

The bill that eventually heads to the President will likely include a public option. Something Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) is in favor of.

"Those are the same arguments they said about Medicare, Medicaid, that it was the gateway to single payer," Ellsworth said. "It's just not true."

Lawmakers did agree something needs to be done about health care, but what to do and how to do it are still up for debate.