Rep. Peter DeFazio Leads House Effort Supporting a Public Health Insurance Option

Congressional Documents & Publications

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), along with Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) today introduced a resolution supporting the inclusion of a public health insurance option in the American health insurance market.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the inclusion of a public option in the health insurance market would reduce premiums for consumers by as much as eight percent. A public option would also increase competition in the marketplace, preventing private insurers from artificially inflating their pricing.

Rep. DeFazio was a key supporter of the public option in 2010, during the debate over the Affordable Care Act. The legislation originally included a provision that would create a government-run health insurance option to compete alongside private insurance, but it was eventually stripped out of the bill before final passage.

"The Affordable Care Act made a good start to address the many abuses inflicted by private health insurance companies, but we need to go further," said Rep. DeFazio. "It's time to build upon the progress made by the ACA and finally provide Americans a choice outside of the private insurance market."

"By most measures the Affordable Care Act has been a success insuring millions of Americans for the first time, but it is clear that more competition is needed as the marketplaces established under are facing challenges across the country," said Rep. Courtney. "The public option was a component of the original House reform bill, and it is intended to help lower prices for consumers by establishing a new more affordable option. An added benefit to establishing a public option is that it could also help lower the national deficit. I thank Rep. Defazio for leading this important effort."