The only way that the White House can shift its strategy is with a huge outcry from us, and our going to townhalls this week to DEMAND that our Democratic lawmakers answer how the costs of private insurance can be lowered without essential cost containments such as Medicare drug price negotiation and the public option.

Because without these two elements as checks on private insurance companies, monthly premiums are going to rise unabated, and there wouldn't be real competition among these insurance companies in the national insurance exchange. You know that might happen in the national insurance exchange without the public option? Right now, we have about six major insurance companies that dominate much of the country's health insurance market in most states. What's going to happen to these six major insurance companies in the national insurance exchange?

Will they really compete with each other? Or instead, buy each small insurance company up to the point that there are now six major insurance companies offering hundreds of different insurance plans within the national insurance exchange?

That's not real competition. That won't bring down prices of your monthly premiums. What it is is nothing more than a mandated bailout of the murder-by-spreadsheet industry with 45 million new captive customers. When Americans don't see the cost of their monthly premiums being lowered, you know who they'll blame for not making health care reform affordable for them? The Democratic Party.

Sure, the insurance regulations are great. So you're stuck with an insurance company that can't drop you for pre-existing conditions, and can't rescind your policy if you get too sick. However, your monthly premiums will continue to rise. In the past year, there's been a 20% jump in the cost of monthly premiums, and that's doubled almost with every year. It's an unsustainable situation for us financially without the public option.

You'll have health insurance, but it won't be affordable. Because if we allow the White House and the Senate moderates to give away the store to the insurance companies on the public option, you know what's going to happen next? Subsidies would be pared back as the next starting point for conservatives. And after the Democrats give in on subsidies to get "bipartisan" votes, the next starting point might be the community rating where the 2:1 requires that you as an adult, doesn't pay more than twice the premiums of a young adult.

You know what's in the Baucus "Fauc-Us" bill draft language from two months ago? A community rating of 7:1. That makes health insurance near unaffordable for most adults.

Here's what we're going to do on Monday.

We'll be calling the White House to let them know that we find regional co-ops unacceptable, and that they would NOT lower the costs of health insurance for Americans! We'll let them know that the public option is the line in the sand for us, otherwise it's a mandated bailout of the junk insurance industry with no real affordable options. We'll go to Democratic townhalls, ask our lawmakers to stand strong for the public option and the Medicare drug price negotiation because without these two essential provisions, there will be no cost containment on private insurance premiums. We'll point out that regional co-operatives are ineffective, and that Blue Cross Blue Shield once was a non-profit organization that got privatized, taken over, and premiums started to rise because of one factor: greed from the company board. Where's the assurance that the same won't be done to regional co-operatives? We'll ask them to take the Pledge not to vote for any health care reform bill that doesn't include the public option because without it, our monthly premiums will NOT be affordable.

And yes, we'll be keeping up pressure on members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus to stand strong for the public option and not to cave in to the White House for a mandated bailout of the junk insurance industry! We'll be working very hard to make it clear to them just why regional co-operatives are unacceptable, and why the public option is an essential cost containment in health care reform. We'll ask them if they're willing to vote for a mandated bailout of the insurance industry with no cost containment on our monthly premiums without the public option. That is what we'll be doing.