Private Health Insurers and Medical Professionals to get Kicked in the Teeth by Public Option, Pelosi Leads Govt Charge...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that insurance companies are out in full force, employing a "carpet bombing" or "shock and awe" campaign against a public option as part of sweeping health care reform. She said that the industry was attempting to rally against the proposal, some form of which is a key tenet of Democrats' health care reform plans. Speaking at a weekly press conference, likely the last before the House breaks for a month-long summer recess, Pelosi said she would have preferred a stronger public option than the one that formed part of a deal agreed to between moderate House Democrats and a key committee chairman Wednesday. "I am for the strongest possible public option," she said. Pelosi said that insurance companies won't be able to charge people seeking coverage higher premiums if they have pre-existing conditions. The legislation wouldn't allow "discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions," she said. Democrats have said their reform would end the practice of insurers denying people coverage for existing conditions. Thursday, she seemed to go one step further by saying they couldn't charge such people higher premiums either. Following the deal struck between members of the fiscally conservative "Blue Dogs" coalition and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Thursday, Democrats hope Waxman's panel will conclude its work on its section of the health care legislation this week. -By Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6601; corey.boles@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=r05JYbuTcqPb0%2F8EHfXgbg%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day. (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 30, 2009 11:41 ET (15:41 GMT) Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 11 41 AM EDT 07-30-09