Look out Washington; there's a new sheriff in town.

The Journal News is reporting that Senator Max Baucus has added another link to the united front that will be pushing health care reform through Washington this year:

[Senator Charles] Schumer said this week he's been asked by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus to serve as the panel's point man supporting the administration on the issue [of a public health insurance option].

"If competition works, why not have a public entity?" said Schumer, a Democrat and New York's senior senator.

Multiple polls have confirmed that the vast majority of Americans support a public health insurance option as part of the plan to fix health care. The benefits to consumers would be substantial:

· Patients would see the exact same doctors for the exact same procedures, but at a much lower cost. By introducing a competing plan to the health care market - as well as the millions of new consumers who would be able to afford coverage for the first time - the public health insurance option would drop costs across the board almost immediately.

· Americans with pre-existing conditions would finally have access to affordable coverage. For decades, one serious illness or chronic condition has sentenced Americans to a lifetime without health insurance. Introducing a public health insurance option into the market would allow those with pre-existing conditions to buy good coverage at a price they could afford. Studies have shown that the cost of insuring those "high risk" individuals would be offset by the millions of young, healthy Americans also purchasing health insurance for the first time. It's the same principle that allows big corporations to pool their insurance risk together and pay much less per employee than their small business counterparts.

· We'd have more choices for health care - not less. Lots of anti-reform groups like to scare Americans into believing that a public health insurance option amounts to a government take over of the health care system. They tell you that, if you have good health care, you're going to lose it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Under the new plan, if you have health insurance that you like - you keep it. Period. The only change you'll see is lower premiums as the increased competition drives down costs for all consumers.

So, if a public health insurance option is a win-win-win for consumers, why is it still controversial on Capitol Hill? The answer, not surprisingly, is money. There's big money to be made in a system that overcharges for health care. And that money is paying for lobbyists that are working around the clock to protect the status quo.

That's where Senator Schumer comes in. During the coming months, as the plans for health care reform unfold, his job is to make sure Congress is looking out for patients and not profits by including a public health insurance option into the mix. Backing him up will be President Obama and the soon-to-be-Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. And, of course, all of us.

A plan that creates more competition, lower costs, and better care - it's so simple and straightforward, only in Washington could it be controversial.