Featuring a poem by Mark Gurarie, with Greg Pattillo, and a new video by David Wax Museum.

It’s time to invest in diapers and zit cream.

The nation’s largest insurer, WellPoint, wants the state of Maine to guarantee them a profit, and they’re suing the state to get the rate increases that would do so.

Snowe is not just on the wrong side of the issue on the public option, she is demanding several incredibly bad provisions ans policies be part of a health care bill in order for it to garner her support.

FTC Compliance Disclaimer: Other than a complementary copy of the movie Orgasm, Inc. for purposes of this review and tonight’s online chat, no compensation was given to me. No one provided any personal pleasure devices, erotic videos, medical samples, tubes of lubes with the little vibrating fingertip thingy, or large sums of cash in small unmarked bills. No one made any contributions to my reelection campaign, and I don’t have a “leadership PAC” like most members of Congress do, so no one made any contributions to it to help me get around campaign spending laws (see Chambliss, Saxby). Also, no one offered to hire any of my relatives or my ex-lovers (see Ensign, Mark) in exchange for this chat tonight.

The balance sheets of several of the largest health insurance companies are larded with good will and intangible assets. Maybe the reason they are so anxious to avoid the public option is that their balance sheets would be seriously weakened if it passes.

Given that the issue of a public plan has become a political flash point, it seemed very strange to me that Cantwell would call her proposal a “public plan.” Calling her “basic health plan” proposal a “public plan” should hurt its chances of becoming law. Conservatives will attack it for being a public plan, and progressives will attack it for being woefully insufficient as a public plan.

Now, thanks to a Chicago Tribune article about Obama lobbying conservative Democrats on the issue of a public option, I think I have an explanation. . . .

An anonymous Democrat claims the Baucus health reform bill is the basis for success. On what planet. The only reason it will be passed out of Senate Finance is to get it away from that Committee.

Grayson was one of the freshmen that PhRMA supported with district ads, which we covered.  And he also signed the letter asking Henry Waxan to swap out the language contained in the White House/PhRMA deal for Waxman’s own language which was much stronger.  We covered that too.  When his involvement in health care was worthy of mentioning, we did.

And if it comes down to a vote and Grayson sides with the drug makers at the expense of consumers, it’s certainly something he’s going to have problems with.

The Washington Post is reporting that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) may have finally reached his breaking point. It is possible that Wyden will vote against Baucus’s bill in committee. This is news that shouldn’t shock anyone who has been following the health care debate.