"Obama offers support for public option"

Carrie Budoff Brown (Politico):

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that Americans should be able to choose between public and private insurance plans in a reformed health care system — detailing his position on various health care proposals for the first time since taking office.

In a letter to two leading Democratic senators, Obama indicated support for a mandate on individuals to buy coverage, an insurance exchange where people can compare and buy plans and a prohibition against denying insurance to people with preexisting conditions. If Congress goes with an individual mandate, Obama said the government must provide a "hardship waiver to exempt Americans who cannot afford it."

Employers “have a responsibility to support health insurance for their employees,” but small businesses should be exempt from a system in which employers are required to provide insurance or pay a fee to the government, Obama said.

On the public plan option, Obama said: “I strongly believe that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans. This will give them a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive and keep insurance companies honest.”

He outlined his position in a letter sent Wednesday to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).

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Before releasing Wednesday’s letter, Obama and his aides had declined to say specifically where he stood on key questions, including the public plan, saying they wanted Congress to lead the way in writing a bill.

The president wrote in the letter that he remains "hopeful that many Republicans" would back an overhaul bill.

However, his position on the public insurance option is at odds with most Republicans, who say it would crowd out private insurers.

Barack Obama