Only 2% Would Sign Up for Nancy Pelosi's Public Option

For this she's been fighting so hard?

After all the noise over Democrats' push for a government insurance plan to compete with private carriers, coverage numbers are finally in: Two percent.

That's the estimated share of Americans younger than 65 who'd sign up for the public option plan under the health care bill that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is steering toward House approval.

The underwhelming statistic is raising questions about whether the government plan will be the iron-fisted competitor that private insurers warn will shut them down or a niche operator that becomes a haven for patients with health insurance horror stories.

I'm not sure whether this analysis takes into consideration what will happen when they initially price the public option way cheaper than private companies, or make the penalties for employers who don't offer insurance so cheap they'll dump their employees into the plan.