Mike McMahon, who has threatened to sacrifice the health of Americans for the profits of Insurance Company executives, has just been sent a message from SEIU:

Mike McMahon: Why do you want Americans to die?

Although I will take an anti-choice Democrat over an anti-choice Republican any day, I have to say that the 64 Democrats who voted for the anti-choice Stupak-Pitts Amendment are a serious disappointment. Some are expected. Some I really hoped for better and I can safely say I am unlikely to support them in the future.

Here is the statement from Planned Parenthood on the passage of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment:  read more »

I was among the first to sign up for Howard Dean's Democracy Bond program. Since July 2005 I have given $20 per month to the DNC. That is four solid years of monthly contributions. Now that isn't by any means the only donations I have made to Democrats, but it felt good to be part of Dean's 50 state strategy that did so well in 2006 and 2008.

I cancelled that monthly contribution today because I cannot believe that the Democrats I have been supporting for so long now want to go on vacation rather than actually enact precisely what America needs to begin fixing our very broken healthcare system. In essence, I will not contribute to people who think their vacation is more valuable than our health.  read more »

Over at Daily Kos they have a round up of which Congressional reps are supporting, leaning towards supporting, or uncommitted/leaning against a strong public option for healthcare reform.

A Congresswoman I respect, Nydia Velazquez, is in the uncommitted/leaning against category. I would like to ask Nydia to please join her many colleagues in supporting a strong public option.

What does this mean?

From the Congressional Progressive Caucus (via the Daily Kos article):

The Congressional Progressive Caucus calls for a robust public option that must:

* Enact concurrently with other significant expansions of coverage and must not be conditioned on private industry actions.
* Consist of one entity, operated by the federal government, which sets policies and bears the risk for paying medical claims to keep administrative costs low and provide a higher standard of care.
* Be available to all individuals and employers across the nation without limitation  read more »

Mayor Bloomberg wades into Federal waters with an op-ed in today's Daily News. Key grafs:

The principles that President Obama has outlined for national health care reform are driven by a goal that I share: universal access to affordable health care. Last week, I went to Washington to speak with members of Congress about an idea that can help make that goal a reality: a public health insurance option.

Today, most Americans get their health coverage from private insurers. A public health insurance option would create a competitor to private insurers that could potentially drive down costs across the board. I support the concept of a public plan, because if it's done right, it means introducing exactly the kind of competition our system needs.

Snip, snip.

A public option would be particularly beneficial to areas where just a few insurance companies control most of the market. This is especially true of cities. According to the American Medical Association, 94% of metropolitan areas in the United States are dominated by one company or a small group of companies. This kind of anti-competitive concentration protects private insurers from ever having to feel the urgency to provide more for less. When you don't have to find ways to cut costs and produce a better product, you tend not to do it. The public option offers the opportunity to force the system to innovate, evolve and improve.

It's very Bloombergian to make this argument by pointing out cost and efficiency benefits. It's also worth thinking about the potential financial benefits to the City from a Federal solution to the healthcare crisis; a report from January by the Citizens Budget Commission attributes rising City personnel costs in part to the increasing cost of healthcare for the City's 280,000 employees.

Nice going, Mr. Mayor. It's appreciated.  read more »