This has the unfortunate failure mode where the well-off, powerful or influential get much better private insurance, which means that no one with means is advoc

This has the unfortunate failure mode where the well-off, powerful or influential get much better private insurance, which means that no one with means is advocating for the quality of the public option, so it declines or becomes uncompetitive in marketplace bidding. Private insurance alongside public could work if it followed a strict "school-voucher" model, i.e. it gets the same funding per-head that the public option does and the customers have to show means to self-insure for any coverage shortfalls vs. the public option.