By Christine Monahan and Kevin Lucia

With the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law—and, with it, targeted Medicare drug pricing reforms and an extension of enhanced premium tax credits for marketplace enrollees secured—policymakers are turning their attention to additional ways to increase access to coverage and promote affordability for consumers and employers. One popular reform measure that can address both goals is the creation of a public health insurance option, a publicly funded, government-run insurance plan that directly competes with private health insurance coverage to drive down premiums and underlying health care costs.

Democrats in Congress have put forward several proposals to create a public health insurance option over the past decade. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Christine Monahan and Kevin Lucia break down the main features of four bills from the 117th Congress that would establish new public option plans. You can read the full post here.