BTW CTman, the same dkos post is up here now.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/national_nurses_movement/2009/05/breaking-eight-heroic-healthca.php?ref=reccafe

The Senate finance Committee members can be found on this page:
link

Democratic members are:

MAX BAUCUS, MT
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV
KENT CONRAD, ND
JEFF BINGAMAN, NM
JOHN F. KERRY, MA
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, AR
RON WYDEN, OR
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, NY
DEBBIE STABENOW, MI
MARIA CANTWELL, WA
BILL NELSON, FL
ROBERT MENENDEZ, NJ
THOMAS CARPER, DE

The late Edward Abbey wrote that the US was ruled by a "Government of the dollar, by the dollar, and for the dollar" -in the case of Max Baucus and his committee members, the description appears accurate.

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Issues that filtered into the dialog . . .

...the U.S. spends double what other nations pay for healthcare, the U.S. remains "the only developed country without health coverage for all of its citizens."

A report by the Urban Institute, highlighted during the hearing, found that 22,000 uninsured adults die every year because they lack access to care.

"For every one percent increase in the unemployment rate," said Baucus pushing the administration initiative, "the number of uninsured Americans increases by 1.1 million."

"Eighty seven million people, one in three Americans, went without health insurance at some point between 2007 and 2008. Fourteen thousand people lose their health insurance every day."

...every new uninsured patient comes a bigger burden on those who remain insured. Hospitals and providers left footing the bill pass the costs onto their paying clients. It is estimated that this year, each insured person will pay $410 towards the uninsured.

Sandy Rosenbaum, the Chair of the Department of Health Policy of George Washington School of Medicine and Law, argued in favor of a single payer system. She added that any new insurance policy should eliminate health status ratings, and exclusions based on pre-conditions to "level the playing field."

A federal plan would not pay as much as we pay today under the privatized system, answered Len Nicholas, Director of the Health Policy Program of the New American Foundation.

John Castellani, President of the Business Roundtable, disagreed with Hatch's argument. He said the current cost burden of the employer based system is unsustainable for businesses that compete on the global market and suggested implied that a new government system could relieve this burden.

Source: courthousenews.com/ ... /Senator_Baucus_Presses_for_Healthcare_Reform

~OGD~