Woolsey Touts Public Healthcare Option

At an event to educate senior citizens about the new healthcare reform law's impact on them, Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, said the law doesn't go far enough and she plans to do more.

In front of more than 100 residents of the Redwoods senior community Wednesday afternoon, Woolsey said a government-run insurance plan is vital to keeping insurance premiums down by providing competition to private insurers.

"The cost of premiums will continue to rise if there is no competition from a nonprofit plan," Woolsey said. "That has to change."

Woolsey, co-chair of the progressive caucus, recently introduced a bill to establish a public option. A government-run plan was initially included in the Affordable Care And Patient Protection Act, passed into law March 23, but was eliminated in an effort to garner enough support to pass the vehemently debated bill.

Woolsey's bill, one the Congressional Budget Office projects will reduce the federal deficit by $68 billion between 2014-2020, has garnered 128 co-sponsors. The CBO estimates the public plan's premiums would be, on average, 5-7 percent lower than the private plans in the exchanges. Providers would be paid Medicare rates plus 5 percent, a figure that would rise alongside physicians' costs.

But the public option won't see the light of day anytime soon, Woolsey admitted, particularly with tough midterm elections coming up Nov. 2.

"It'll be the first thing I do in the new Congress, provided I get elected again," she said.

Woolsey hosted the Redwoods event, featuring a panel of experts focused on informing seniors about provisions in the new law that would impact them.

"We know that a lot of people remain confused about the new health law," said Nina Weiler-Harwell, associate state director of AARP. "In all of the political squabbling, Americans have heard too little about what this means for them and their families."

Several panelists noted the $250 rebate checks that started going out in June to Medicare recipients who are hit by the so called donut hole, the gap in Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage.

Dr. Betsy Thompson, a federal medical officer, said patients won't be forced to share costs for preventative exams like bone density tests and colorectal cancer screenings.

"That will go a long way to improving health in this country," she said.

While she was grateful to hear about specific provisions, 83-year-old Redwoods resident Rachelle Marshall was primarily concerned about the restraints that could be placed on private health insurer from raising premiums under the new law.

"The public option was just what I wanted to hear, and Congresswoman Woolsey will deliver," she said.