...and I'm not referring to the time I lived in Canada. I'm referring to the healthcare insurance plan known as the "Healthcare Group of Arizona" which I was on for about 5 years but am no longer on (and note that the rules changed in Nov. '08 making it less of a public option).
This plan was available to anyone who was self-employed for more than 6 months WITHOUT ANY DECLINES FOR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS. All were accepted as long as you paid the premiums and were self-employed. If you had a pre-existing condition, they still accepted you with the following proviso: 1) if you had insurance immediately prior, you got coverage for the pre-existing condition immediately; 2) if you didn't have insurance immediately prior, there was a one-year waiting period before coverage kicked in for the pre-existing condition. So I believe that the above description fits the definition of a "public option" with, of course, the exception being that it was only available to the self-employed. But note that the key ingredient -- acceptance of people with pre-existing conditions -- was in place. At the time I went off the coverage (March '09) I was paying $350 a month which included optional dental coverage.
