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Coalition Set to Fight for Public Option in Health Care Reform
A coalition of progressive groups representing more than 30 million people, is set to build support for health care reform legislation that includes a public health insurance plan option and to battle the private health insurance industry’s deep-pocketed campaign to block a public plan option.
The coalition, which made the announcement yesterday at the America’s Future Now! conference in Washington, D.C., will focus on grassroots organizing around the nation to build public and congressional support—and apply pressure to Congress—to include a public plan option.
A public insurance plan option for workers and families who either have private insurance coverage or no coverage at all is one of the AFL-CIO’s key health care reform principles. It has been vigorously attacked by the private insurance industry and most congressional Republicans.
Dr. Howard Dean, former Vermont governor, said the election of President Obama, growing congressional majorities and a stronger progressive movement will play a key a role in winning real health care reform.
Over the past few years, we have worked together to build a progressive infrastructure and a movement that helped to elect President Obama and begin to undo the damage of the last eight years. But it was just the beginning. As the health care reform debate makes clear, America needs a strong progressive movement; now is not the time to become complacent.
The coalition includes the AFL-CIO, Health Care for America Now! (HCAN), Campaign for America’s Future, Change to Win, Children’s Defense Fund, MoveOn and civil rights, women’s community, faith and youth groups.
Mary Rickles, spokesperson for Dean’s group, Democracy for America, told Politico:
We’re drawing a line in the sand that any legislation passed has to include a public plan. Americans deserve to choose between a public option and for-profit insurance companies.
Says HCAN national campaign manager Richard Kirsch:
We have the momentum for real change, and with the commitment of the president and Democratic leadership in Congress, we know we can be stronger and louder than the special interests who make money off the status quo and would have any reform continue to put their profits before people’s health.
The support for including a public health plan option is growing. Last week, 27 U.S. senators sponsored a resolution demanding a public health insurance option be included in health care reform legislation. In an April letter to President Obama and Senate and House leaders, four prominent House caucuses urged that health care reform include a public plan option in health care reform legislation.
Dean says working families’ needs should be at the center of health care reform, the private insurance industry’s profits.
Americans should be the ones to choose. If they like their current, private insurance, they can keep it. If they aren’t satisfied, they should be able to choose a public plan. Respect Americans’ ability to decide.
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8 Comments
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I fully support the Public Plan option , It is a must for retirees like me who lost their Dental and Eye Care. It is also the next good step toward an eventual Single Payer Universal System which will provide Quality Health Care for all Americans Rich or Poor.
I urge all my Sisters & Brothers to contemplate the Big Picture and do their part to Promote and Support this Coalition.
Union Brothers and Sisters,
We need a public option in national health plans because the insurance companies are not going to be fair to retirees like me with many pre-existing conditions. I’m moving to Europe, thanks to dual citizenship, if comprehensive health insurance reform fails to pass. But in the meantime, I’ll work my dardest with the AFL-CIO and my own union, the CWA, to support a public health care supplement to Medicare, especially imrovements in the prescription drug plan. The donut hole is a literal killer.
Brother Sweeney, Brother Cohen and other leaders, I thank you for your work.
As a healthcare movement, we should be negotiating for what we want, and that is a health care system minus the insurance industry – single payer healthcare.
If there is a compromise, it will only be better if the demand is constantly put forward by the movement for HR 676.
Medicare Fior All!
Don & Bob: AMEN to that. The public option is ok, BUT the true question is: Will the private insurers (the health care greed dogs) keep costs down? They have promised to insure all, regardless of medical conditions, but do you truly believe costs will go down? Everyone will go to the public option, so why not expand Medicare for ALL now? Single payer, the savior of the crisis, let’s rid the private insurers, let them sell other insurance. We want health care!!
We need a National Health Care system similiar to Canada & England to name a couple. Citizens should have Health Care available to them without the risk of losing their home and life savings. National Health Care should be available to ALL citizens and not just a select few. The only people that might not want such a system are more than likely the same ones that are getting very wealthy under the present system.—-JLG
We cannot live without our doctors, but we can live without insurance companies. Being in the life, health and P&C insurance business for over 20 years, I would estimate that 50% of premiums, and a substantial portion of human resource expenses, go to waste on other than healthcare, such as—wining, dining, lobbying, contests to attend resorts and unreasonable executive bonuses (the latter 2 going to the most effective liars, cheats and thieves). I support a public plan or single payor system of which most of the premiums paid would go towards healthcare. Even in property and casualty insurance, and similar with health insurance, I can give examples of where, system wide, as much as 150% of premiums acquired go into client acquisition expenses in the name of competition and efficiency (Not).
I have three health insurance companies engaging in lying, cheating and stealing, deceptive trade practices and fraud. One is using the excuse of the employer’s lack of paying the premium. The employer uses the excuse of election problems , which is due to their highly secure and complex online systems that do not work and take an act of congress to correct. The other insurance companies use the excuse that they sent a survey form inquiring about other coverage. Even when you finally get it and swear you do not have coverage, they misinterpret that you do have other converge. All of the parties use highly-secure corporate websites to communicate messages that are erased after a few weeks. However, they never fail to collect the premiums.
Between Banks, credit card companies and health insurance companies, insurance companies are tied for first in the example of lying, cheating and stealing, which is the order of the day for big business (Republicans). This is not godly, not even free enterprise, and will lead to the destruction of this country and the world. We are all consumers. This has to stop.
Public option? Pass HR676 and now.
I fear a lot of smoke and mirrors in this deal not knowing the details. A “public” plan could be not in the interests of workers.
After all, Medicare is not the best of “insurances” around for healthcare. Compared to steelworker insurance of the past, Medicare lacks in a number of areas.