#99 Planet Money: Should Government Run Our Health Insurance

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee twice voted down a measure to have the government offer a health insurance plan — the so-called public option. In countries like England and Canada, the public option is a fact of life. Taxpayers put money into the system and everyone automatically gets health insurance from the government, in what's known as a single-payer system.

Should the government run our health insurance? Donna Smith of the California Nurses Association says it should. Smith, whose personal insurance nightmare figures in the Michael Moore documentary Sicko, says a single-payer system would get care to more people and save money.

Stuart Butler of the Heritage Foundation says government shouldn't become everyone's insurance company. Butler, who's from the U.K., says single-payer care is no cure-all.