Good to see you posting again, old friend, sorry to hear of your difficulties.  You already know where I come down on this, so I'll keep it brief.  You said:

If you have a government option patterned after Medicare it is not a matter of leaving your healthcare in the hands of a faceless third party. It is simply a way of financing the cost. Ask any Medicare recipient. He/she is free to choose their own physician, and which medical procedure is best for him/her. The question is can they afford the cost of the procedure.

Don't know if you're aware, but Medicare is the LARGEST denier of healthcare claims in the United States.  It's nothing more than an insurance plan, which you eschew with your statement:

The insurance companies don't want to relinquish a cash cow like healthcare.

The only difference between Medicare and other insurance plans is that Medicare is backed by the federal government, which has an unlimited source of capital.  Insurers would be competing in the same market with an entity which has not only can print as much money as it needs to stay in business, but also has the power to regulate its competitors out of existence.  How is that fair?

I realize that there's no easy solution to this, but history shows that looking to government for answers always creates more problems than it solves.

Regards,
Scott Perry