Dr. Howard Dean – Doctor, former Governor, former presidential candidate, and former head of the Democratic National Committee:

“This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate. Honestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill, go back to the House, start the reconciliation process, where you only need 51 votes and it would be a much simpler bill.”

Mr. President a word please.  I have no desire to reward the insurance industry for its reprehensible conduct in using its Senate cronies to block the health care reform bill.  Therefore, requiring every American to buy health insurance from the industry responsible for at least 46,000 Americans dying each year is unacceptable and cannot with a straight face be called health care reform no matter how much lipstick you put on it.  Senators continue to say that there is still good in this bill and they are right.  There is quite a bit of “good” in this bill for Big Insurance.  For example, Senators continue to parade the fact that the bill will prevent insurance companies from denying coverage to consumers with preexisting condition.  What they neglect to mention is that insurance companies can charge Americans with preexisting conditions three times as much for health insurance.  And if the person can’t afford to pay the exhorbitant price the government will then fine him/her for not carrying insurance.  The bill does not have a cost containment mechanism so the price of health care will continue to skyrocket more likely at a faster pace than it does currently.  There is also no choice meaning that the Big Insurance maintains its monopoly and operate the way it sees fit.  The industry will continue to operate at a medical loss ratio of 73 percent which means that 27 percent of the premium paid by every American will go to the millions paid to health insurance CEOs.  This bill is not worth the money and should be scrapped unless the mandate is removed.  This bill is too expensive for what we are getting. Allowing a few Senators to affect this bill in a way that guts it from what it was designed to be is absolutely reprehensible.  Americans taxes will begin to go up beginning Jan 1 and there will not be anything to show for it.  That does not make for a happy electorate who will be willing to turn out in 2010.