Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), who is my representative in Congress, recently introduced HR 1321 in Congress to extend health coverage to all Americans. The bill would provide only private options, and preempt additional state mandates while implementing its requirements in health care. I wrote her the following email:

Dear Rep. Eshoo,

I am writing you to express deep concerns about your recent introduction in Congress of HR 1321, the Healthy Americans Act. First, I applaud you for your effort to bring about health care reform. However, your bill lacks a critical component absolutely essential to any good health care reform legislation: an option (not a mandate) for people to buy into a public option (Medicare) along with the private plans.

Without a public option for people to choose alongside the private options, health care costs will not be contained, industry lobbyist influence will not be curtailed and the American people will be denied a critical choice participate in health care reform through the use of their individual choices and dollars. Without a public option, there will also be no pressure on health insurance companies to change their wasteful ways of doing business. This is an industry that causes 30 cents on every health care dollar go to bureaucratic administrative costs, compared to a 3% administrative cost for Medicare. The health insurance industry must compete with public options on a level playing field and not be shielded from that competition.

Lastly, your bill would prohibit states from adding additional mandates on private insurers above and beyond the federal mandates. It is a violation of both federalism and of a state's right to provide additional protection for its own citizens. This provision is ill-conceived and must be removed.

As a constituent of yours, I urge you to make these changes in your bill and provide for true reform and affordability in health care. This is not the time to cave to health insurance industry pressure. We must recognize that these insurance companies are largely responsible for the health care disaster we have in America today, and their clout in Washington must not be allowed to block or diminish reform.

If you are a constituent of hers, please write her. If not, please write your member of Congress to urge them to support a public option. A public option must be included in a health care package coming out of Congress. If you need a little push, watch this video from former Vermont Governor and former DNC Chiar Howard Dean, MD, the first governor to virtually guarantee all children in Vermont health care, as well as 92% of the adults.