July 1, 2009 Congressmen tout Obama's health care bill in Conn. Play video

(NECN: Brian Burnell, Norwich, Conn.) - Thunderstorms held down attendance at a health care forum hosted by congressman Joe Courtney in Norwich. This is his second in as many days and he had fresh ammunition in the battle for health care reform.

Rep. Joe Courtney, D-CT Second District: A front page story in the Hartford Courant today that demonstrates what is broken. Blue Cross-Anthem announced to the state of Connecticut today that its going to be seeking a 32-percent increase for premiums in the individual market.

Courtney says the skyrocketing cost of private insurance is one reason why a government-run option must be part of health care reform and adds the folks he talks to agree.

Rep. Joe Courtney, D-CT Second District: NY Times/CBS Poll that showed 72 percent support for a public option is something that I hear echoed back home which is that people feel they should at least have the choice to be able to take advantage of a publicly run program.

Walking into his office in Washington, though, are lobbyists for the health insurance industry singing a different tune.

Rep. Joe Courtney, D-CT Second District: They feel that its unfair advantage for public versus private. That it would be the end of private coverage. There's obviously some jobs here in Connecticut that are tied to private health insurance so there are a lot of issues that certainly get thrown out there.

One of the biggest is how to pay for it.

Rep. Joe

Courtney, D-CT Second District: Part of the President's proposal is to pay for it by restoring the top marginal rates for income above 250-thousand dollars. Something which he campaigned on all throughout the 2008 election but also a lot of it is about reducing some of the expenditures in the medicare program.

In the house the bill is called the tri-committee health reform bill because it has to get through 3 committees one of which Courtney sits on. It's a daunting a task with a tight deadline.

Rep. Joe Courtney, D-CT Second District: The goal of the speaker is to have action in the house done by the end of July.

And the President wants it on his desk in the fall.