U.S. Rep. Harry Teague (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., was the only member of New Mexico’s delegation in Washington who wasn’t quick to praise an announcement earlier today that a public option will be included in the Senate version of the health-care reform bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced earlier today that he would include a public option in health care legislation heading toward a vote on the Senate floor. States would have the option of opting out of the system.
As of the publication of this posting, Teague hasn’t responded to a request for comment sent several hours ago. Meanwhile, here are the statements released by the other members of the delegation:
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.
“It has always been my strong preference that we include a public insurance option. I believe it will be a very useful tool for containing health care costs,” Bingaman said. “I applaud Senator Reid for working hard to gain Senate support for a public plan proposal.”
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M.
“I applaud Majority Leader Reid for including a public option in health insurance reform legislation that will be considered by the full U.S. Senate,” Udall said. “A strong public option will insert honest competition into the health insurance market, and is essential to our efforts if we hope to achieve substantive reform that makes quality, affordable health insurance available to the nearly half million New Mexicans without coverage today.
“While this legislation continues to be a work in progress, Majority Leader Reid’s leadership in including a public option in the Senate bill brings us one step closer to the day when no American will be forced to make the impossible choice between putting food on the table and providing health-care coverage for their families,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.
“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s announcement today that the Senate bill will include the public option is encouraging news,” Heinrich said. “The majority of Americans think it is important to have a choice between a government-run health-care insurance option and private coverage.
“I remain committed to supporting a public option, which will put pressure on private insurance companies to operate more efficiently and hold down premiums for consumers,” he said. “Fixing our broken health insurance system is critical to the future of New Mexico’s working families and our economy, and it continues to be clear that the status quo is unacceptable.”
U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M.
“Rep. Luján is a strong supporter of the public option. He is encouraged that it is moving forward in the Senate, but right now his primary focus is on making sure that the House bill contains a strong public option,” said Mark Nicastre, spokesman for Luján.
Update, 10 p.m.
To be fair, last week Teague spokeswoman Sara Schreiber referred me to an Albuquerque Journal article in which Teague spoke about the public-option proposal.
Here’s what the Journal article quoted Teague as saying more than six weeks ago:
“Teague said that he doesn’t think a public option is necessary to overhaul the health care system, and that he has serious concerns about the plan’s overall cost.
“‘As a small-business man, one of the concerns I’m going to have is how we’re going to pay for it, and I’d like to see the details, and what effect that will have on the thousands of small businesses in New Mexico,’ Teague said.”