Health Care for America Now on HELP Committee Bill
Washington, DC – Health Care for America Now (HCAN) – the nation’s largest health care campaign – released the following statement today in response to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee’s legislation for health care reform:
Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now:
“The HELP Committee’s bill will give Americans all across this country what they want - a choice of a strong public health insurance option that will provide lower costs and keep the insurance companies honest. The public health insurance option included in the HELP bill will be available on day one, giving Americans a new alternative to the private insurance industry. It will also encourage the delivery of better health care at a lower cost. The public health insurance option, combined with other key sections of the HELP Committee legislation, makes this bill a good prescription for health care reform. More specifically, the bill invests enough resources to make good, affordable health care available to middle-class families and includes strict rules to stop insurance company abuses.
We urge the Senate Finance Committee and the full Senate to follow Senator Kennedy and his fellow Democrats’ lead in giving everyone a choice of keeping their current health insurance coverage or selecting a new public health insurance option. That public health insurance option would be a real alternative to the private insurance companies that have failed to make health care affordable while regularly delaying and denying needed care.
Finally, we are proud to have champions for a strong public health insurance option on HELP like Senators Dodd, Whitehouse, and Brown, and we were particularly pleased to hear Senator Brown acknowledge our rally and historic lobby day at the Capitol last Thursday on today’s call with reporters and recognize that more than 10,000 people came to DC to demand we achieve quality, affordable health care for all this year.”
Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now:
“The HELP Committee’s bill will give Americans all across this country what they want - a choice of a strong public health insurance option that will provide lower costs and keep the insurance companies honest. The public health insurance option included in the HELP bill will be available on day one, giving Americans a new alternative to the private insurance industry. It will also encourage the delivery of better health care at a lower cost. The public health insurance option, combined with other key sections of the HELP Committee legislation, makes this bill a good prescription for health care reform. More specifically, the bill invests enough resources to make good, affordable health care available to middle-class families and includes strict rules to stop insurance company abuses.
We urge the Senate Finance Committee and the full Senate to follow Senator Kennedy and his fellow Democrats’ lead in giving everyone a choice of keeping their current health insurance coverage or selecting a new public health insurance option. That public health insurance option would be a real alternative to the private insurance companies that have failed to make health care affordable while regularly delaying and denying needed care.
Finally, we are proud to have champions for a strong public health insurance option on HELP like Senators Dodd, Whitehouse, and Brown, and we were particularly pleased to hear Senator Brown acknowledge our rally and historic lobby day at the Capitol last Thursday on today’s call with reporters and recognize that more than 10,000 people came to DC to demand we achieve quality, affordable health care for all this year.”
