[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17231]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HEALTH CARE'S PUBLIC OPTION

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, some of my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle want to see a so-called ``public option'' as a part of any 
health care reform plan. The key question for any public health option 
is, would this plan be subsidized with taxpayer money? If not, then the 
public option would simply be a nonprofit insurance business which 
anyone could create now. But if taxpayer money will subsidize this 
option, and I believe it will, the public option will only serve to 
crowd out other choices.
  A public option will not save any money; it will compete and 
undermine private plans. And I'm afraid many companies will end up 
dumping employees under the public plan. A public option is nothing 
more than a back door to government-owned health care which will 
ultimately result in rationed care and bureaucrats in charge of your 
health care choices.

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