I'm in Washington Working to End Health Care Status Quo

Today I am in Washington, D.C., meeting with members of Congress on the best way to move forward with real health reform. As I've spoken with these Representatives, I've stressed that the time to act on health care reform is now. I'm heartened by the response, and after sitting down and working with members in Washington I am more committed than ever to ending the health care status quo.

For decades, Washington has allowed partisan point-scoring and special interest lobbying to crush reform. But the health care crisis facing American families isn't a Democratic issue or a Republican issue – it's a moral issue.

I've stressed in my meetings with members of Congress that President Obama's health insurance reform plan addresses three simple goals: If you have health insurance, it will give you more security and stability. If you don't have insurance it will give you quality, affordable options. And it will lower the cost of health care for our families, our businesses, and our government.

Also today, two new reports reiterate what many of you already know: that the health care status quo is unsustainable and that it's time for the kind of health insurance reform President Obama has proposed.

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that more than 60% of doctors agree that health insurance reform should include a public option alongside private insurers to introduce choice and competition to the insurance market.

The new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust indicates that premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance have continued to rise.

Key findings from the Employer Health Benefits survey include:

• The average cost of a family policy in 2009 increased to $13,375. On average, employees pay $3,515 and employers pay $9,860.
• In the past ten years, health insurance premiums have increased by 131 percent in total, far outpacing wages or inflation, which have risen 38 percent and 28 percent respectively.

You can read the full report by visiting www.kff.org.

It's also worth noting that, in addition to doctors, a strong majority of Americans also favor the type of public option proposed by President Obama.