Oct. 2--U.S. Sen. Bob Casey promised Thursday to "fight hard" for a government-run public option to compete with private health insurance plans as Congress works on health care reform.

Speaking to a conference call of supporters of two liberal groups, Health Care for America Now! and MoveOn, Mr. Casey said the public option would increase consumers' choices and foster competition.

"It would be better for Pennsylvania if we had a public option," Mr. Casey said. "It would be better for America if we had a public option. It would also be better for the economy in controlling our long-term debt because we can bring costs down with the public option."

Mr. Casey serves as a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which approved its version of health care reform in July. Its version includes a public option, unlike the better-known Senate Finance Committee's version.

The Finance panel voted twice Tuesday against adding a public option to its bill, and is still working through other amendments to its bill.

Critics say introducing government-run health insurance would put some private insurers out of business and take a step toward an entirely government-based system that would ruin health care.

"I can't understand why the far right and why a lot of Republicans are against choice and competition," Mr. Casey said. "I thought they were supposed to be the promoters of that."

Mr. Casey said his favored option for paying for health care reform is higher taxes on "wealthy Americans."

"I think one of the ways that we should help pay for it -- it can't cover all of it -- is to say to very wealthy Americans, 'You've got a tax cut for eight years. Now we're asking you to help out on health care reform and maybe pay a little more,' " he said.

Mr. Casey also made it clear he will oppose folding the federal Children's Health Insurance Program into any reform bill as the Finance panel's bill proposes.

"I say CHIP works," he said. "Why are we trying to fix what ain't broken?"

Mr. Casey said he has "a significant degree of optimism" that Congress will pass a health care reform bill this year and the HELP bill will form the final bill's foundation.

"The bill we get won't be perfect but I think it will be a substantial change," he said.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk @timesshamrock.com

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