US Rep. Peter Welch (D) unveils bill to create Federal Health Insurance [View All]

[HopeOverFear]

MONTPELIER – U.S. Rep. Peter Welch introduced a bill this week that is the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's health care reform plans: The creation of a public health insurance plan run by the federal government.

Welch, a Vermont Democrat, joined two colleagues from the U.S. House on Wednesday in unveiling the Choice in Health Options Insures Care for Everyone Act, creating a public health insurance plan that would compete in the private field.

That plan is one of the main components of Obama's proposed reforms for the industry – and could also prove to be one of the more controversial proposals as the insurance industry and others in the medical field line up against the plan.

Welch, who supports Obama's plans, said he is aware that the battle over health care reform will be difficult. But he said the atmosphere for reform is vastly different than the early 1990s, when a major overhaul of the system blew up in the face of the Clinton administration.

"During the Clinton era, Harry and Louise killed that plan," Welch said, referring to a famous commercial funded by the insurance industry opposed to a government health plan. "Now, Harry and Louise don't have any health insurance. A lot has changed."

Under Welch's proposal, the federal government would create its own health insurance plan, funded entirely by premiums, for open enrollment in the market. Advocates of this plan say the system can be run cheaper and more efficiently than the plans offered by the private insurance companies, which make a profit off of the plans they offer to customers.