President Obama has said that in order to keep insurance companies "honest" and reduce costs, we must provide Americans with the option of a public health insurance plan. On Thursday, he reaffirmed his support for offering a public insurance option.

"I continue to support a public option; I think it is important," said President Obama during last week's national healthcare forum, which was viewed online by thousands of SEIU members and millions of concerned Americans from across the country.

Standing in front of a banner that read "Health Insurance Reform Now," President Obama asked supporters of reform to help "cut through the noise and misinformation." He described the public option as setting a benchmark for private insurers, who would then respond by shaping their own plans to be competitive.

Check out the full video here:

The Washington Post this week ran a headline, "Quietly, Health Care Debate Enters Crucial New Phase." Well, not that quietly. Not a single workday passed this week without major health care news spilling onto cable news networks, blogs and newspapers.

Below are just a few of the highlights from the past week:

1.   House Education and Labor Committee Approves Reform with an all-nighter. In a sign that President Obama's urgency is being felt throughout Congress, the Education and Labor Committee debated amendments until about 6 a.m. Friday morning and resumed mere hours later for a final vote. Two of the three committees reviewing the legislation have now voted for its passage. Next up: the House Energy and Commerce committee, which is voting on amendments now, and is expected to vote on the draft legislation next week.

2.  In the Senate, we had major progress with the landmark vote in the Senate HELP Committee. "The Senate health committee approved a massive health care overhaul bill in a party-line 13-10 vote Wednesday morning, a major step in the push to create a government-run health insurance plan.  The partisan approval of the $600 billion health bill in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was a landmark moment in the 60-year push by the Democratic Party for national health care," reports Politico.

3.    The New York Times declared in its lead editorial, "[America's Affordable Health Choices Act] is worth fighting for."  The NY Times continued, "While the Senate continues to struggle over its approach to health care reform, House Democratic leaders have unveiled a bill that would go a long way toward solving the nation's health insurance problems without driving up the deficit. It is already drawing fierce opposition from business groups and many Republicans. This is a bill worth fighting for. ...The bill makes a mockery of Republican claims that the Democrats are pushing a hugely costly government takeover of medicine." 

4.  The American Medical Association (AMA) endorsed the House health care bill, undermining Republican arguments implying (and sometimes alleging) that doctors were opposed to the Democratic plan to fix health care.  "This legislation includes a broad range of provisions that are key to effective, comprehensive health system reform. We urge members of the House Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means Committees to favorably report H.R. 3200 for consideration by the full House."

5.  Target joins with Wal-Mart in rebuffing the Chamber of Commerce's staunch opposition to health care reform.  The AP reported, "Wal-Mart is the latest in a line of traditionally Republican-leaning businesses to embrace key portions of President Barack Obama's bid to overhaul health care, a trend that could complicate opponents' efforts to build a united front when Congress ramps up its work on the issue this summer."'

On Wednesday as Senator Jeff Bingaman joined his colleagues on the Senate HELP Committee to vote for sending a comprehensive health care bill to the Senate Floor, he was joined by dozens of New Mexico doctors, nurses, and health care providers assembled to show support for a robust public health insurance option in 2009. Seventy-two percent of Americans say they want a public option that competes with private insurance companies and keeps them honest--and that number includes 50 percent of registered Republicans.

"One thing we've learned from our patients is that they don't want the government doing everything when it comes to health care," said Dr. John Winters, an Internal Medicine physician and CIR member. "But they do think government should advocate for them, and that it should set and enforce the rules so that private insurance companies can't put profits before our health."

Senator passes check-up with flying colors! Outside of his Albuquerque district office, the doctors and activists presented the Senator with a "Health Care Reform Check-up," an examination of Sen. Bingaman's progress to date. Based on the positions the Senator has taken in the Senate, the healthcare providers awarded him with a 'clean bill of health.'

"In New Mexico, two insurance companies hold 54% of the market," said Dr. Shadi Battah, an Internal Medicine physician and CIR member. "So it's no wonder that premiums have skyrocketed 92% over the past 7 years. No one's holding their feet to the fire. I want my patients to have a choice between public and private - and I'm glad to see Sen. Bingaman wants to give us the choice as well!"

President Obama is hosting an online discussion this Wednesday, at 1:15 p.m. EDT, on health care reform. He's soliciting questions from people via Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Below is the President's video introduction to this week's online discussion:

If you're on Twitter, ask a question with this hashtag #WHHCQ. Facebook users can ask questions here. Two hundred and thirty-six (236) YouTube video questions have already been submitted--many of which deal directly with the public health insurance option. Below are a few of our favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1TNyspiNaU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH0zcK8T39Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfl7mDMpruw

Submit your own question via YouTube here.