![Planet Money show](https://d3dthqtvwic6y7.cloudfront.net/podcast-covers/000/026/080/small/npr-planet-money.jpg)
Summary: Meet Jacob Hacker, the father of the "public option." Hacker, a Yale political science professor, introduced the notion of the federal government offering a health insurance plan that would compete with ones from private companies. President Obama calls the public option a means of pressuring private insurers to keep policies affordable, while critics say it would put them at an unfair disadvantage. Now Hacker takes a turn defending his big idea, saying that a public plan would cost less to run and be able to bargain for better prices.