Published: September 28, 2009 07:53 pm      

Rockefeller touts public option

WASHINGTON — A West Virginia lawmaker is promising to introduce an amendment today in the Senate Finance Committee for the creation of a “family friendly public health insurance option.”

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., a member of the Senate Finance Committee, is arguing the creation of a public option will drive down health insurance costs and save families money. The Senate Finance Committee is currently working to craft a comprehensive health insurance reform plan for America.

“True health care reform cannot be realized without a strong public insurance option that works for American families and I intend to offer this amendment in the Senate Finance Committee (Tuesday),” Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, said in a prepared statement. “The bottom line is we need a public insurance option because it will drive down private insurance costs and help make health insurance affordable.

“When this happens, families win – they get to keep more of their hard earned money in their wallets and that’s a great thing for them and for the economy. Opposition to a public option is really just a vote for the insurance companies to make bigger profits and that is unacceptable to me. The American people have asked for real solutions that protect their families and their economic security – a public option does just that.”

While many people who attended a health care town hall meeting in Princeton last month sponsored by U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., spoke in opposition to a public option health care plan, members of Rockefeller staff say the senator is hearing from senior citizens and other West Virginians who support a public option.

“Senator Rockefeller hears a tremendous amount of support from West Virginians who want to buy competitive health insurance — and need a public plan option because private companies simply don’t provide enough affordable choices in West Virginia,” Jessica Tice, a spokeswoman for Rockefeller, said. “Senator Rockefeller has spoken with West Virginians at roundtables and events large and small throughout the state on health care reform. Through those discussions, he has met a lot of people who are supportive of the public option — and he has found that those who initially opposed it often open up to the idea when they learn more about it.

Tice said Rockefeller receives hundreds of phone calls, e-mails and letters about health care each week.

“He is working hard to answer West Virginians’ questions directly, through his Web site, and through an e-mail address he has set up specifically for West Virginians to talk about health care (health@rockefeller.senate.gov),” Tice said.

Rockefeller’s amendment would call for the creation of the Consumer Choice Health Plan to compete directly with private plans. It would be offered to all individuals and businesses purchasing health insurance through the national health insurance exchange. He argues the plan will be financially self-sustaining, and would be required to follow the same insurance regulations as private plans operating in the exchange.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com