States try ‘public option’ Obamacare plans to reduce coverage costs

By: Shalina Chatlani

Outlets: Stateline

Published: March 2, 2026

Words: 1,522

Last Updated: 5 days, 7 hours ago

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Nearly two decades ago, progressives fought to include a so-called public option — a government-run health plan — in the broad health care overhaul known as Obamacare. That effort failed, defeated by heavy lobbying from the insurance industry and opponents who decried it as a government takeover of health care.

But the final Affordable Care Act, which President Barack Obama signed in 2010, didn’t bar states from adding a public option plan to their state-run …

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