Which Democrats Want To Steal $1,400 From You?

There has been a variety of reporting about Nancy Pelosi's ongoing efforts to whip the necessary votes for a robust public option. She is close to securing 218 votes, but is not there yet. My question is who are the roughly 40-50 Democratic House members fighting to steal $1,400 every year from hard working American families?

The robust public option favored by Nancy Pelosi would pay Medicare rates plus 5%. The CBO said a public option with this reimbursement structure would have premiums roughly 10% lower than private insurance. The CMS concluded the robust public option's premiums would be roughly 11% cheaper than private insurance. For a family of four, that would equate to roughly $1,400 saving on health care premiums this year.

If a Democratic member of Congress is going to vote to force people to buy health insurance, but deny them a robust public option which could save them $1,400 a year, that is theft, pure and simple. It is using the government to take $1,400 each year directly from the pockets of working class Americans, and place it in the coffers of the private, for-profit health care sector.

If a Democrat wants to fight against helping working class American families save roughly $1,400 a year they should be forced to do so publicly. Hiding behind anonymous whip counts is unacceptable--the time for games and posturing is over. The American people deserve to know who is fighting on their behalf, and who is fighting for the health care industry. Constituents deserve to know which of their representatives are working hard to deny them more affordable health insurance.