Tell the Insurance Industry the Lies Must Stop!

Getting health care right means supporting the House bill

Dear Get Reform Right.org (and my Representative)

I am writing to you because I agree with your new Web site's slogan, "Health reform matters, so let's get it right." I appreciate the innovation prompted by your selection of the Web address www.gethealthreformright.org. Let it never be said you're not masters of marketing and spin.

You wished for my story and here it is:

I too believe that health care reform must be done right. But for me, anything that puts private, for-profit insurance in the driver's seat is the wrong option. The right option is to break the stranglehold you have on our health care.

You say that employer-based, for-profit health care is working for everyone. That's false. You've seen to that. Many of us can no longer buy your overpriced products or are facing an employer who's cutting benefits. Too many of us lose our benefits with our job and have no affordable choices thanks to your market dominance. We have endured your immoral practices of rescissions and discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions. You've "rated" us by gender, by age, by race and by geography, and come up with every excuse you can think of to deny our care when we need it most.

Continually, we've seen you come between the decision we make with our doctor. Now you want to come between us and the quality, affordable health care we all deserve.

Karen Ignagni, the CEO of one of your associations, said, "We understand we have to earn a seat at the table." Lies, misinformation and a scare-mongering Web site adds up to a funny way to earn it.

I cannot believe that after years in which the assembled groups funding this Web site -- including the Association of Health Insurance Advisors, America’s Health Insurance Plans, American Benefits Council, the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers, the National Association of Health Underwriters and others -- have made their money by rejecting those likely to need health care and denying care for those of us who pay our premiums, who have turned out doctors into bean counters and our health care needs into fodder for your sky-high profits and even higher executive compensation, that you would create such a deliberately misleading Web site under the guise of "promoting" reform.

You must think we're idiots.

Luckily, I am not fooled. Neither are my representatives in Congress. We know that any reform that doesn't break the monopoly of private insurance and expand opportunities for public coverage is no reform at all. I urge you to take down your thoroughly misleading Web site. 72% of Americans and 50% of Republicans support a public health insurance option, to guarantee real coverage and hold your feet to the fire. The leadership in the House and the President likewise supports giving us, the American people, a real choice in health care.

You will not deny us.

[Your name]