Meet the Opposition to the Public Option in the Senate Finance Committee

Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, Blanche Lincoln, Bill Nelson, and Tom Carper.

That's who's standing in the way of passing a public option amendment through the Senate Finance Committee. The vote on these amendments will happen Tuesday.

They're standing in the way of lower health care costs:

In total, a public plan based on Medicare rates would save $110 billion over 10 years. That is $20 billion more than earlier estimates, a spokesman for House Speaker Pelosi said.

They're standing in the way of holding the insurance industry accountable, because simply regulating the insurance industry will never be enough to stop them from screwing over their customers:

...the practice of rescission - taking away your insurance policy when you become sick - is illegal now. And yet, the insurance companies admitted before Congress earlier this year that the practice is common.

Regulations are viewed by business in this country as obstacles to be overcome, not rules to be abided by. In even the best regulations, loopholes will be found, enforcement will be spotty, and fines will be chalked up to the cost of doing business.

So, what are you, the patient, supposed to do?

If you had a choice, a choice which President Obama wants you to have, you'd be able to choose a public health insurance option that's governed by the common good, not Wall Street Profits, and thus abides by the regulations. If insurance companies could lose customers because they don't want to abide by regulations, they'll think twice before looking for loopholes. In this way, a public health insurance option keeps the insurance industry honest and ends insurance company abuses.

And they're standing in the way of something a large majority of the American people want:

By a margin of 52 percent to 27 percent, Americans believe President Obama has better ideas about overhauling health care than Republicans do, according to a national poll conducted by The New York Times and CBS News. And nearly two-thirds of the country supports creation of a government-run insurance plan, or public option. Read the full story.

Instead, they want to give us the insurance industry bailout bill, with a mandate to buy unaffordable insurance from private companies, no cost controls, and no way to keep the industry in line. Not surprisingly, that prospect is immensely unpopular, something that will come out in elections all around the country in the coming cycles as Democrats get defeated for shoveling taxpayer money directly to the insurance industry.

If the proposed bailout to the insurance industry passes, over the objections of House progressives, Nancy Pelosi, and leaders in the Senate like Chuck Schumer, Jay Rockefeller, Tom Harking, and Sherrod Brown, these five will be the ones to blame.

The vote on public option amendments will be on Tuesday. Give the Senators on the Finance Committee a call and tell them where you stand. Make clear to the five that you will hold them responsible. mcjoan has the numbers to call, both to thank those who are standing up and put pressure on those who are caving to the insurance industry and conservative Republicans:

Max Baucus MT (Committee Chair)
e-mail
Phone: (202) 224-2651
Fax: (202) 224-9412  

John Rockefeller WV  
e-mail
Phone (202) 224-6472
Fax (202) 224-7665  

Kent Conrad ND
e-mail
Phone: (202) 224-2043
Fax: (202) 224-7776

Jeff Bingman NM
e-mail
Phone: (202) 224-5521
TDD (202) 224-1792
Toll Free (in NM) 1800-433-8658

John Kerry MA
e-mail
Phone (202) 224-2742  
Fax (202) 224-8525  

Blanche Lincoln AR
e-mail
Phone: (202) 224-4843
Fax: (202) 228-1371

Ron Wyden OR
e-mail
Phone: (202) 224-5244
Fax: (202) 228-2717  

Charles Shumer NY
e-mail
Phone:(202)224-6542
Fax: (202) 228-3027
TDD: (202) 224-0420

Debbie Stabenow MI
e-mail
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4822
TTY: (202) 224-2066

Maria Cantwell WA
e-mail
Phone: 202-224-3441  
Fax: (202) 228-0514  
TTD: (202) 224-8273

Bill Nelson FL
e-mail
Phone: (202) 224-5274
Fax: (202) 228-2183

Robert Mendez NJ
e-mail
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4744
Fax: (202) 228-2197 fax

Thomas Carper DE
e-mail
Phone: (202) 224-2441
Fax: (202) 228-2190