Toomey, Sestak Hold Health Care Town Hall

This evening Senate candidates Pat Toomey and Joe Sestak will go toe to toe on the merits of President Obama’s health care agenda in a joint town hall meeting.
Toomey, a former Congressman, who’s running for the Republican nomination, says Sestak’s support for a public insurance option is misguided.
Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak is pushing hard for a public option, saying it will bring more competition to the insurance market, and drive down costs.
Toomey takes the opposite view. He argues a government plan would drive private insurance companies out of business, and lead employers to drop insurance plans.
Toomey says spurring more private competition is the better way to bring down prices.

"We’ve got competition in gas companies, and grocery stores, and dry cleaners and home builders and every other service that we use every day. And it’s because we have a lot of competition that we have competitive and low, affordable prices for a lot of these things."

Toomey also says Democrats are arguing from a false premise when they talk about guaranteeing insurance coverage for all Americans. He says the government already does that through Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The joint town hall will be at Muhlenberg College. Five term incumbent Arlen Specter was not invited.