News Release

New Report Shows Why Health Care Reform Must Include Obama's Public Health Insurance Plan

WASHINGTON – National health care reform legislation must provide consumers the option to join a new public health insurance plan that would directly compete with private health insurance plans, according to a new report, “A Public Health Insurance Plan: Reducing Costs and Improving Quality” released today by the Institute for America’s Future. The report compares the long and successful track record of Medicare, which would partly serve as a model for a new public health insurance plan, against the record of private plans, and argues that such a model is the best way to drive down costs and improve health care quality.

During the campaign, President Obama proposed a public health insurance plan as part of a new National Health Insurance Exchange, through which individuals and small businesses could purchase health coverage. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has made a similar proposal.

“The public health insurance plan will be a major point of contention as the debate over health care reform heats up,” said Roger Hickey, co-director of the Institute for America’s Future. “Groups representing consumers and patients are aligned in favor of Obama’s proposal, and the insurance, drug and hospital industries are arrayed against such a proposal.”

Frank Clemente, health care expert and author of the report, joined Hickey on a conference call today to release the report. “There is overwhelming evidence that a public health insurance plan controls spiraling health costs much better than private insurance, while providing high-quality care and the broadest choice of providers to consumers,” said Clemente. “Giving consumers the ability to choose between competing public and private health insurance plans will save the system enormous sums of money and give consumers peace of mind.”

Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager for Health Care for America Now, a coalition of groups working hard to make quality health care affordable, joined Hickey and Kirsch on today’s call. Kirsch pointed to new public opinion data by Celinda Lake that shows most Americans want a public health insurance plan.

Said Kirsch, “Including the choice of a new public health insurance plan in comprehensive health care reform is the only way to bring down costs and force private insurance companies to compete. We need a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all in 2009, and the public clearly understands the importance of having a choice of a private or public health insurance plan. The public clearly understands it’s how we hold insurance companies accountable and guarantee we will have quality, affordable health care when we need it.”