Healthcare in our country as it exists today is unacceptable.

I support a public option because I believe that it can be an important tool to keep insurance companies honest and move them towards offering better quality health insurance at a lower cost to consumers.

It will help to provide much needed competition for insurance companies and give people more choice. Many insurance markets around the country are uncompetitive- some areas are almost completely dominated by one company. Without real competition, insurance companies are able to charge whatever they want and get away with practices such as rescission-taking away health insurance from individuals after they become sick in order to avoid having to pay expensive claims.

Open and fair competition has always been the backbone of the American economy. By applying the same principles to the health insurance market we can move towards an environment where all Americans have health insurance choices and access to high quality, affordable healthcare and preserve patients’ choice of doctors and plans, and tighten long term healthcare costs that threaten families financial security.

The healthcare reform efforts in Congress have been focusing on bringing down the costs of healthcare reform to individuals and the healthcare system as a whole. Towards that goal, Congress has been focusing on bringing under control the largest cost drivers. While medical malpractice is certainly a contributing factor to healthcare costs, it represents a relatively small fraction of overall costs. The Congresswoman looks forward to working with her colleagues in the future to address this important issue.