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In the continued effort to pass healthcare reform that lowers costs, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is working to pass health insurance reform that includes a public health insurance option.

Senator Gillibrand joined Senators Michael Bennet, Jeff Merkley and Sherrod Brown to write to Senate Majority Leader Reid highlighting findings from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that said a public option could yield cost savings of at least $25 billion. Bennet also pointed to the fact that a public option would provide Americans with a low-cost alternative to private insurance and improve market competitiveness.

In addition, the letter noted that there is substantial Senate precedent for using reconciliation to enact important health care policies, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), COBRA, and Medicare Advantage.

“Too many people in Washington believe that just saying you are for healthcare reform is a substitute for actually getting something done,” the Senators wrote.“While some choose to stall progress under the pretext of principle, more and more Americans are losing the health care coverage they need. Americans deserve better than political leaders who care more about the special interests than the people we’re supposed to represent. They deserve a Washington that is more concerned about the thousands of dollars being lost by families struggling to pay for coverage than the millions being spent by special interests intent on stopping reform in its tracks.”

In the letter, the Senators also pointed to widespread public support for a public health insurance option as evidence that the American people see it as an essential component of healthcare reform that lowers costs and improves the quality of care.

Source: USA Health Care News

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