Cheat Sheet: The Public Plans  On the stump in Wisconsin today,
President Obama insisted that opposition to health care reform
was based on fears that government would eventually run the
system and reduce patient choice -- and that such a major
transformation was not in the cards.  "I don't want government
to run stuff," he said.   He suggested that a government-
administered health care plan would be a last resort for those
who couldn't afford or did not want a plan offered by private
insurance companies. Whatever plan passes Congress is likely to
include a mandate for Americans to purchase health insurance.
For most advocates, the purpose of a public option is to create
an "ideal" health insurance plan that can experiment, can decide
to pay doctors what it wants, can use what Rep. Henry Waxman has
called "creative tension" to compete with private plans, and one
that will ultimately serve as a mean toward which all the
private plans move. A strong public plan would force private
plans to negotiate lower rate