Washington, D.C. –Responding to President Obama’s address to Congress Wednesday evening, USAction President William McNary called on Congress to represent the interests of the American people – not the insurance companies – and pass quality, affordable health care reform with a public health insurance option.

“We support the President in his call for genuine health care reform and that means fixing the real health care challenges that the American people face,” McNary said.

McNary added that affordability must be the cornerstone of health care reform – and to make health care affordable, insurance companies must be held accountable. “Without a public health insurance option, the health insurance companies win and the American people lose,” he said.

McNary said the public health insurance option will lower costs and stop insurance industry abuses. “We have an historic opportunity to pass comprehensive reform that gives people a choice of a public health insurance plan as a guaranteed option with good benefits at a price that they can afford, so that never again in America will anyone have to worry about getting the care they deserve when they need it,” he said.

USAction is a founder of Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the nation’s largest public health care campaign, and USAction Executive Director Jeff Blum serves as co-chair of HCAN’s steering committee.