The original plan was to have a government option that co-existed with the insurance industry.  It was patterned after the National Health Service which has been most popular with the general public of Great Britain since 1948.  Please do not complain about long waiting lines for medical treatment. That is only true of elective surgery and cosmetic surgery. The British use a triage system. If a patient requires immediate attention he/she gets it.

However, the American insurance industry bitched about not being able to compete against a government option. Why? Who knows. In Great Britain the insurance industry competes with the National Health Service.

When Obamacare was introduced to Congress the various senators and representatives began immediately seeking earmarks for their respective states a condition to passing the Affordable Healthcare Act, and the final draft of the bill turned out to be quite different than originally intended. As usual the insurance industry found ways to create huge price increases. I think some regulation of the insurance industry is needed.