News Release

Report: Public Health Insurance Plan Reduces Costs and Improves Quality

Debate Hinges on Public Health Insurance Plan Competing with Private Plans

WASHINGTON – Health-care expert Frank Clemente will join Health Care for America Now director Richard Kirsch and Institute for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey on a conference call with reporters on Thursday to release a new report showing that a public insurance option as proposed by President Obama is critical to the success of health care reforms soon to be considered by the Congress.

With the insurance industry opposing key elements of reform embraced by President Obama, the new data and recent public opinion numbers will show that a public insurance option is crucial to controlling health care costs, achieving quality coverage and garnering significant support for reform from the public.

The study’s author, Frank Clemente, will discuss how his analysis shows that a public health insurance plan choice is the only way to achieve the goals laid out by President Obama for health reform. Richard Kirsch will discuss new public opinion data that shows increasing support for a choice between private and public health insurance.

NEWS TELECONFERENCE ON
PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION

DATE: Thursday, Feb. 5, 2008

TIME: 11 a.m. ET

CALL-IN: 877-723-9521, code 649-9807

PARTICIPANTS

Frank Clemente Former Issue Campaigns Director, Change To Win Labor Federation	Richard Kirsch National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now	Roger Hickey Co-director, Institute for America’s Future
Frank Clemente is a health care policy consultant with two decades of experience on health care issues in Congress and the public interest community. Among his current clients are the Institue for America's Future and the Communications Workers of America. Most recently he was issue campaigns director at the Change to Win labor federation and Director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch.	Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is a national grassroots campaign of nearly 700 organizations representing 30 million people dedicated to winning quality, affordable health care we all can count on in 2009. As President Obama said on October 4, 2008, “It is clear that the time has come – right now – to solve this problem.” It is up to us to make sure Congress acts this year.	The Institute for America's Future is a center of non-partisan research and education. Drawing on a network of scholars, activists and leaders across the country, IAF develops policy ideas, educational materials and outreach programs. The Institute’s efforts help shape a compelling progressive agenda primarily focusing on kitchen-table concerns such as affordable health care, accessible higher education, retirement security, living wages, healthy workplaces, strong infrastructures, safe food, fair trade and clean energy.