Sen. Brown on Inclusion of Public Option in Draft Senate Health Insurance Reform Bill

October 26, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) issued the following statement in response to Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) announcement that a public option will be included in the draft health insurance reform legislation that he sends to Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

“A public option in the Senate health reform bill is an important victory for taxpayers, middle class families, and American businesses. For too long, insurance companies haven’t played it straight with the American public. They’ve limited or denied medical care based on gender, location, and pre-existing health conditions, they’ve placed arbitrary caps on how much care you can receive, and they’ve fattened up their premiums with bloated administrative costs and record CEO salaries. Some of these insurers even reduce benefits for women if they’ve been victims of domestic violence. And they’ve been able to get away with it because of a lack of competition. A public option will inject much-needed competition into the insurance industry, keep HMOs honest, and ensure that families across the country have a choice between affordable, quality health plans.

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“I applaud Majority Leader Reid for pursuing a strong, public option that is similar to the one we crafted in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. While the bill would allow a state to opt-out of offering the public option to its residents, I am confident that the states will choose to put middle class families ahead of the insurance industry.”

Brown is a leading advocate for the public option. Along with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), he helped write the public option language in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee-passed health reform bill. Earlier this month, he led 29 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Reid urging the inclusion of a public option in any health reform legislation that will be considered on the Senate floor. In May, he introduced a resolution sponsored by 28 senators calling for a public option. In April, Brown circulated a letter signed by 21 senators calling for a strong public health insurance option.

Source: Senator Sherrod Brown