With Max Baucus sinking the public option in committee, and debate still raging about our national health crisis, let’s take a step back from the discussion and look at the fundamentals of our conversation. When we say ‘health care,’ whose health do we really care about? How can we talk about a ‘public option’ when a lack of options is killing 45,000 members of our public every year, and while racial disparities are costing us hundreds of billions over the next ten years? When undocumented members of our public pay daily into a system that specifically excludes them? ColorLines’ Tammy Johnson asks who this ‘public’ is that we’ve been told we can’t afford to care for. More in the Word! video series: "Illegal": Word is a Gateway to Racism and Exploitation "Reverse Racism”: Word Distracts from the Big White Elephant of Systemic Racism “Colorblind”: Word Twists Good Intentions “Merit”: Word Hijacks the Conversation Around Race