To: The President of the United States, The U.S. Senate and The U.S. House

Started by: Timothy Foley

"I strongly believe that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans. This will give them a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep insurance companies honest."
                -- President Barack Obama

For private insurance companies, cherry-picking the healthiest customers, denying care to those who need it, raising premiums every year, and charging exorbitant administrative costs hasn't just been part of the game, it's how they've made their bread and butter.

It's time to change the game.  That means decreasing the monopoly of private insurance and increasing public coverage.  And it means doing it now... not 5 years from now.

President Obama and a majority of Democratic allies in Congress, support the creation of a public health insurance option, similar to Medicare, to compete directly with private insurers.  The public option would be available to all Americans who are non-elderly, do not have an employer plan, and do not qualify for Medicaid. The benefits would be the same as those given to Members of Congress.  We would be able, for the first time, to choose between guaranteed public coverage or private insurance.  Private insurance would have to compete not just on profit, but on cost and quality.

But many in the House and the Senate, including moderate Senators and Blue Dog House Democrats, are pushing for a "trigger" option:  we would trust private insurance to fix the mess they helped create for a few years.  If it turns out they're still valuing profits over people, we'd create a public plan then.

This denies us a choice NOW.  This idea of a trigger isn't competition, and this isn't keeping the private insurers honest.  It's a "get out of jail free" card.

All Senators, Representatives, and the President too that "just getting a deal done" isn't acceptable.  If they want a public plan, they need to fight for it now.