Public Option Gets A New Look Why do we have these proposals now? “In general, there’s a lot of frustration that the cost of coverage is so much higher than it was in the past,” Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters, said at the association’s virtual Capitol Conference earlier this year. “Largely, it’s because of the high cost of medical care. But it’s also frustration over cost-sharing — how high deductibles are compared to in the past. People are asking, ‘Is there a different way to do this?’” Frustration with the current system has led to full-blown single-payer proposals as well as to proposals for incremental additions to current government-run programs, Trautwein said. These proposals include Medicare for All, a buy-in to Medicare, a buy-in to Medicaid and a public option.