Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) is hopeful that a resolution to the health care reform effort will soon follow Thursday’s health summit with President Barack Obama and bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate. The months-long effort to reform the nation’s health delivery system is reaching the final stages and Rep. Engel wants all parties involved on Thursday work together to find solutions.

The summit will run from 10 am to 4 pm, with occasional breaks, on Thursday, February 25, 2010. You will be able to watch the proceedings live on Rep. Engel’s website at http://engel.house.gov/.

Rep. Engel is very disappointed that the public option appears to not be a part of any plan for a final health reform solution. “In the efforts by the White House and Congressional leadership to bring everyone together for this historic public discussion on health care, I think it would be in the best interest of the American people to have everything on the table. Whether you agree with the public option or not, it should be a part of this discussion. I sincerely believe this is the best and fairest way to reform health care in the United States which is why I co-sponsored legislation to bring it about. A public option would not only cover more Americans than are now covered but would keep costs down by providing better competition among insurance providers.

The 11-term Congressman added, “We can be certain that Republicans will bring every one of their ideas for improving the health care system. Democrats shouldn’t leave their best player on the bench by shelving the public option.”

“Without reform, health care for millions more Americans is simply too expensive and the system is fast becoming unsustainable. I urge my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to put their partisan disagreements aside and work towards achieving real solutions,” said Rep. Engel, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.

“This is no longer a Republican or a Democratic issue, it is an American issue. If we fail, to find common sense solutions, all Americans will lose in the end.”