Lawson blasts Boyd, Lieberman on health care

Florida Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson says the millions of sick, uninsured Americans deserve better leadership on health care reform than his Congressional race opponent Allen Boyd and U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) are providing.

“While I am pleased with President Barack Obama’s progress on health care reform, I am deeply disappointed that conservative Democrats like Joe Lieberman and Allen Boyd have been able to move this historic legislation away from our core goals of providing affordable, quality health care coverage to all Americans,” Lawson said.

Lawson is particularly disappointed with Boyd and Lieberman’s opposition to the proposed government-run public health insurance option. The public option was part of the House bill that Boyd voted against but was not in the bill the Senate is on its way to passing. After it clears the Senate, the health care package will likely go to a House-Senate conference committee for a final compromise.

“From the very beginning, I have been a strong supporter of a robust public option in any health care reform legislation. The public option guarantees coverage to all Americans and most importantly keeps the insurance companies honest,” Lawson declared. “I am deeply saddened that conservative Democrats like Joe Lieberman and Allen Boyd continue to block real Health Care Reform. When elected to Congress, I will stand with the American people and against the special interests.”

While the public option is out, the health care reform bills still have the key reform measures that Obama touted in his Weekly Address.

“Both the House and Senate bills would make it against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition or illness. Both would stop insurers from charging exorbitant premiums on the basis of age, health, or gender. Both would prevent insurance companies from dropping your coverage when you get sick. And both would put a limit on how much you have to pay out of pocket for the treatments you need in a year or lifetime,” Obama said.

According to an AP report: “In place of a government-run insurance option, the estimated 30 million Americans purchasing coverage through new insurance exchanges would have the option of signing up for national plans overseen by the same office that manages health coverage for federal employees and members of Congress. Those plans would be privately owned, but operated on a nonprofit basis, as many Blue Cross Blue Shield plans are now.”