A public insurance plan option is one of the AFL-CIO’s key health care reform principles, but it has been vigorously attacked by the private insurance industry.

In a letter to President Obama and Senate and House leadership, the leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), the Black Caucus, the Hispanic Caucus and the Asian Pacific American Caucus wrote:

Our support for enacting legislation this year to guarantee affordable health care for all firmly hinges on the inclusion of a robust public health insurance plan like Medicare.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Hispanic Caucus, says:

With one out of every three Hispanics in our country likely to be uninsured and with so many Latino small business owners, we have to provide all Americans with the choice of a public health insurance plan.

Noting that the United States is the only industrialized nation without universal health care, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the Black Caucus, says:

It is time we put in place high quality comprehensive care for all. As we develop healthcare reform legislation, a public health insurance plan like Medicare and Medicaid must be included in order to guarantee equal access to quality affordable healthcare for everyone.

The private for-profit insurance industry and most congressional Republicans long have opposed a public insurance option. After all, their soaring profits and bonuses are at stake. Says Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), chairman of the Asian Pacific American Caucus:

For too long, insurance companies have dictated the quality, quantity and accessibility of healthcare to the American people. A robust public health insurance plan will ensure true competition with those companies that reap egregious profits.

Last month, the CPC announced its support for a public plan. This latest action by the four groups, says  Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), co-hair of the Progressive Caucus, shows:

we are committed…to developing a health care system that doesn’t leave anyone out.

That’s why we need to make certain that any final healthcare reform legislation includes the option of a public health insurance plan to ensure that everyone has access to high quality, affordable care.

Also, last month, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said House Democrats are committed to including a public plan option in health reform legislation. In the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has expressed support for a public plan. But he is working on developing bipartisan legislation with committee ranking minority member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who opposes such an option.