I always had the feeling that the local HCAN supporters really wanted a holy alliance between home-stater Max Baucus' legislative efforts and their movement.
Now Montana's HCAN supporters, many of whom also are Baucus supporters, are put in the uncomfortable place of choosing between policy and politics. This should be interesting.
HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA NOW CALLS BAUCUS BILL A FAILURE
Calls on Senate Finance Committee to Fix It
Washington, DC - Health Care for America Now (HCAN) - the nation's largest health care campaign - released the following statement today on Senator Max Baucus' health care bill:
Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now:
"The Baucus bill is a gift to the insurance industry that fails to meet the most basic promise of health care reform: a guarantee that Americans will have good health care that they can afford. The Baucus bill would give a government-subsidized monopoly to the private insurance industry to sell their most profitable plans - high-deductible insurance - without having to face competition from a public health insurer.
Under the Baucus bill, employers would have no responsibility to help pay for their workers' coverage and would be given incentives to have workers pay more for barebones insurance. Americans who don't get health benefits through work would still not be able to get good, affordable coverage.
We urge Senators on the Finance Committee to replace the Baucus plan with legislation that will do what the Senate HELP Committee and three House committees have done: guarantee that Americans have good health insurance that they can afford with the choice of a strong national public health insurance option."
