Public plan option supporters descend on Capitol

Washington -- Thousands of supporters of a public plan option gathered in Washington, D.C., on June 25 to attend a rally calling on lawmakers to overhaul the health system.

The event was organized by Health Care for America Now, a national grassroots campaign. The group estimates that about 10,000 people showed up for the rally, which was held in an open courtyard adjacent to the U.S. Capitol.

Physicians, nurses, union workers and others were among the attendees who voiced their support for the implementation of a new national government health insurance plan to compete with private insurance options. Health Care for America Now supports a public plan option that "guarantees affordable coverage without a private insurer middleman."

Speakers at the rally included Sens. Charles Schumer (D, N.Y.) and Sherrod Brown (D, Ohio).

Several town hall meetings were held throughout the city after the rally to drum up support among lawmakers for comprehensive health system reform. One such meeting was headlined by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D, Mich.), Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D, Ill.) and Steve Kagen (D, Wis.), and former Gov. Howard Dean, MD, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee. More than 300 nurses and physicians attended, including representatives from the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Student Medical Assn., the American Nurses Assn. and the National Physicians Alliance.

Some participants preceded the rally with a June 23 letter to Congress promoting reform.

"We see the health care system up close and know that we must make sure that all of the people in our communities have access to needed services, that people have real choices of plans and doctors, and that health care is affordable for all the people in the country," said the letter, which was signed by the AAFP, the American College of Physicians, the American Osteopathic Assn., the American Medical Student Assn., Doctors for America and the National Physicians Alliance.

The groups asked for more training dollars for primary care physicians, new payment models to support patient-centered primary care and enhanced Medicare payments.