HOWARD DEAN'S COLUMN ON HEALTH CARE

Howard Dean appears to be digging in his heels over the senate version of the health care bill being watered down. If I follow Dean's logic, he's got a problem with mandating coverage when it comes to premiums going to insurance companies but likely views things quite differently if the individual mandate involved premimus going toward a public option.

Improvements can still be made in the Senate, and I hope that Senate Democrats will work on this bill as it moves to conference. If lawmakers are interested in ensuring that government affordability credits are spent on health-care benefits rather than insurers' salaries, they need to require state-based exchanges, which act as prudent purchasers and select only the most efficient insurers. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) offered this amendment during the Finance Committee markup, and Democrats should include it in the final legislation. A stripped-down version of the current bill that included these provisions would be worth passing.

Next, I realize what I'm about to do risks taking Dean's words out of context but there's something inherently funny about a far left whack job like Dean using the following statement to make an argument.

Yet Washington has decided, once again, that the American people cannot be trusted to choose for themselves. Your money goes to insurers, whether or not you want it to.

Wow.

Read Dean's COLUMN.... if you dare.