| Congressman Dan Maffei made it clear where he stands on health care reform.
He supports a public option and believes that without the public option, a health care reform bill won't pass the House.
"If there is no public option, I don't see that bill passing the House," Maffei said Tuesday at a meeting of The Post-Standard's editorial board. "I would not support a bill that doesn't have a strong public option, just as I wouldn't support bills that don't have private options."
It was the first time that Maffei, D-DeWitt, has said that a lack of a public option would be a deal-breaker when it comes to his vote.
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In the end, Maffei said, both sides should be able to choose to enroll in government or private health insurance programs.
"The key thing is to give the individual the choice," he said. "And I think that's where I'm landing. .. So yes, you have to have a strong public option. I was for that from the beginning. I remain for it -- even more for it now than I was before. But you also have to have strong private options. The public option cannot crowd out private options. That's probably the single biggest thing that I've learned."
I am sure that Maffei has made his position known before, but this is the first clear indication that he supports a public option. He also brings up a valid point about private options. The problem we have now is that there are no strong options (unless you qualify for Medicare or some other government-run system) because employers either provide low quality health insurance or they offer no such benefit. Under the current plan, not only is a strong public option necessary, but a strong private option is needed.
It is good to know where Maffei stands. We need more of these statements from other members of the New York delegation. |
