This past week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that a long awaited public option would be included in the new healthcare bill, a major victory for proponents of universal healthcare.

However as it currently exists, the proposed public option may be more show than action. While it has been the center of contentious debate for months now, the actual option may have less affect than people realize.

The option in the House and Senate Bills would be available to less than ten percent of Americans. Those left out include all but the smallest businesses and nearly everyone who currently has employer-based insurance. Also excluded are those in other government programs such as Medicare and the Veterans Administration.

Some senators, such as Ron Wyden from Oregon, have pushed for a more inclusive public option that would allow those with current employer insurance the option to switch. However these viewpoints seem to be lost in the debate, and may not find their way into the final bill.

And for those who do qualify, the cost may be too much. Even with subsidies that exist in the House bill, a family with an income of $55,000 a year would have to pay $5,000 a year in premiums for a public policy. While this may be up to 25 percent cheaper than current private options, it is still a far cry from free universal healthcare.

I bring this up not to discredit our Democratic lawmakers nor to make the public option seem insignificant. Rather, I would like to emphasize just how much work remains left to be done to provide true universal coverage. President Obama's persistence has kept healthcare reform on track, and any progress we can make through this bill is a step in the right direction.

For now we should keep in mind that the creation of more insurance options for American families, either private or public policies, should help to increase competition among insurances and bring healthcare prices down.

In the mean time, do your best to stay happy and healthy. Appreciate good health when you have it, and show compassion to the sick.

If you would like further reading on this subject, I would recommend the following articles..

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/10/29/MNAL1ABCOT.DTL

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-mcneely/we-need-wydens-free-choic_b_326274.html