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Public Option is Key to Health Reform

By: Rep. Mike Honda and Rep. Raul Grijalva

POLITICO
June 24, 2009 05:08 AM EST

Seventy-two percent of the American people support a robust public health insurance option that is available to everyone. A public option is good for our families, is good for the American economy and is supported by the American public. As Congress moves forward with health care reform legislation this summer, we must include in our final reform package a robust public option linked to an existing federal provider network — for example, the Medicare network.

The current system is broken. Today, skyrocketing health care costs continue to crush the pocketbooks of our families and businesses. Far too many others in our country continue to go without basic health coverage, posing public health risks and driving up costs for everyone. Finally, our current system is not comprehensive, as it fails to address the health care needs of racial, ethnic and other minorities.

The current system is not affordable for our families. Health care premiums have doubled over the past nine years, three times faster than wages have increased. A daunting 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies were due to medical costs in 2007. The goal of President Barack Obama and our goal is the same: It is to ensure high-quality, affordable health care for all.

The two of us are supporters of the single-payer approach. However, we acknowledge the current political realities of health care reform. We praise Obama and the congressional leadership for their commitment to reduce health care costs for families, businesses and government — and a public option would do just that.

Private insurance companies would be forced to compete with an affordable, high-quality option. We would expand choice in the health insurance market, while allowing families to keep the health care plans they like. By increasing choice and competition, we would be able to lower costs for all.

The current system is inefficient, as it fails to provide health care coverage to close to 46 million people, including 8 million children. Failure to cover the uninsured further drives up our health care costs. The uninsured are less likely to visit the doctor regularly and less likely to receive quality primary-care and preventive services. These are crucial to assessing and managing major health risks. The uninsured have a 25 percent higher mortality risk and higher rates of death from preventable illness than the insured.

We must expand coverage under a strong public option, as it would increase access to primary and preventive care, which would in the long run lower costs. This is particularly critical when we look at the racial and ethnic health disparities among the uninsured population.

The current system also fails to provide high-quality care for all, particularly for ethnic and racial minorities. In communities as diverse as the Asian, Hispanic, African diasporas and Native American communities, cultural and language barriers pose a challenge to providing high-quality care for all.

The lack of medical interpreters and translators often leads to devastating consequences, including misdiagnosis or mistreatment, or places young children in immigrant families in the awkward position of providing medical translations. We know that private providers and insurers have for the most part failed to meet the needs of these underserved communities. A robust public option that reflects sensitivity toward these diverse populations offers us the opportunity to get it right.

In our roles as chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, we are working intimately with our colleagues in the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses to ensure that the needs of the most underserved and vulnerable populations in our country are met during the health care debate.

These four caucuses are standing united in support of a robust public health insurance option that is available to all and that is linked to an existing federal provider network. Together, we make up 112 votes in the House of Representatives and five votes in the Senate. We stand united with 72 percent of the American people in support of meaningful reform that includes a robust public option that is available to all.

America can do better to provide affordable and quality care for those on her shores and her territories. A strong public option is a critical component of health care reform, ensuring affordability and expanding health care coverage to all, and it will be critical in addressing all health disparities. America deserves a health care system that enables everyone to live a healthier and happier life.

Rep. Mike Honda is chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Rep. Raul Grijalva is co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.