Breaking news on healthcare...

Dear MoveOn member,

Breaking news on health care: The Washington Post is now reporting that insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield "is putting the finishing touches on a public message campaign aimed at killing a key plank in Obama's reform platform."1

The Huffington Post sums it up as "Insurers Planning on Double-Crossing Obama."2

We knew the insurance companies would eventually turn on the president, but this is much sooner than expected. And they're targeting the public health insurance option—the crucial piece that will help cover everyone. So we're immediately launching a rapid-response campaign to go toe-to-toe with Blue Cross Blue Shield and win quality health care for all Americans.

We need to raise $150,000 in the next two days. It's a lot, but we'll need every penny to take on Goliath. We'll run ads, hold events, and work like crazy to get the real truth out to voters. AND we'll keep the pressure on Congress to make sure they don't get bullied into gutting the president's plan to guarantee health care coverage for everyone. Can you chip in $25 right now to make it happen?

The public health insurance option is a key provision in Obama's plan to help cover all of us. It would finally give everyone the choice between keeping our current insurance or switching to a new, high-quality public plan. And under a public health insurance plan our premiums wouldn't subsidize CEO salaries or stockholder profits (or in this case, misleading attack ads), so we'd all save a lot on health care costs.

Plus, if we had the choice of a public plan, private insurers would have to lower rates and improve quality to compete, so they're dead set against it. Today's news just confirms that fact.

In the past, Blue Cross Blue Shield has been sued for underpaying doctors and fined for refusing to cover necessary medical treatments for their customers.3 Now, with what watchdog group Media Matters calls a "desperate attempt to deceive,"4 they've gone one step too far.

Can you chip in $25 to help stand against Blue Cross Blue Shield and pass health care reform with a strong public option?

Thanks for all you do.

–Patrick S., Joan, Michael, Ilyse and the rest of the team

My answer to MoveOn (out of my country, you socialist pigs):

All I have to say about your socialist healthcare plans is this: I'm glad I have insurance through Blue Cross/Blue Shield and read this before you get all dreamy about how great socialized medicine is gonna be:

Ten Tragic Consequences of Universal Healthcare

It's written by a doctor, unlike your hopeful missives on socialized medicine.