Fact Check: Buttigieg Claims Public Option More Efficient Than Private

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said Thursday night during the Democrat presidential debates that a public option will “become more efficient” compared to private health insurance plans.

Buttigieg claimed Thursday night that a public option would serve as “more efficient” compared to private insurance, although that efficiency only arises through caps on rates to providers, such as hospitals, doctors, and other medical services.

Buttigieg said that “as more people buy in, it will become more efficient … I refuse to accept that we can’t have health care for all.”

However, despite Buttigieg’s lofty claim, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found in 2009 that a public option plan would “probably be comparable to the rates paid by private insurers participating in the exchanges.”

“The public plan would have lower administrative costs than those private plans but would probably engage in less management of utilization by its enrollees and attract a less healthy pool of enrollees,” the CBO added.

For instance, Washington State became the first state in the nation to establish a public option on its health insurance exchange and plans are expected to be 10 percent cheaper compared to private plans only because they capped rates paid to providers.

Further, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) proposed a public option plan, claiming that it would save money, but would include another $100 billion in grant monies for a state to create a public option.

Buttigieg said that his public option plan would outcompete private insurance plans. Mayor Buttigieg’s plan would offer a Medicare buy-in program allowing the government plan to be allegedly cheaper than private insurance plans.

As Democrats continue to decide who they will pick as their presidential nominee, a New York Times poll found that more presidential candidates favored a public option over Medicare for All.

Buttigieg claimed during the debate that the public option would help create an easy path towards Medicare for All and universal health insurance coverage.

In comparison to Buttigieg, Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said that they back an immediate transition to Medicare for All.