The Bozeman Daily Chronicle* today had a relatively long piece (Health reform will affect how Montanans access care) on the health care debate, and in uncharacteristic fashion, took a few shots at Senator Max Baucus. It starts at paragraph 48:
But some are skeptical Montana’s six-term senator is capable of pushing substantive change.
“Max Baucus is purely a satrap of industry,” said [Rick] Meis from Montanans for Single-Payer. “He is a small power figure who is totally manipulated by the powers that be.”
Between 2003 and 2008, 23 percent of money raised by Baucus’ campaign and political action committee came from the health industry.
A range of medical interests are represented in his list of donors. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the insurance industry provided $784,685; health professionals gave $848,141; and health services and HMOs chipped in $465,750.
Two of Baucus’ biggest contributors are Schering-Plough Corp., a health care company that contributed $92,200 during the five-year period, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, which contributed $62,350.
Meis said Baucus’ proposal is heavily influenced by those donors.
“It’s what the insurance industry is telling him, because they’re buying him,” Meis said.
From Meis’ perspective, single-payer is the obvious choice if not obscured by industry interests.
“There’s not a single-payer system in the world that doesn’t work better,” he said.
A Baucus spokesman, Ty Matsdorf, quickly circled the wagons, saying that Baucus has on occasion done things the industry didn’t like, as if now doing them the biggest favor in the world now was thereby justified.
But that’s not the point. Even though it didn’t happen until paragraph 48, a Montana newspaper went after Max Baucus. I’m not sure what that means – it could be (one can only hope) that the health care crisis and Democratic attempts to crap on us are having severe fallout, and that Max’s usual base of support, which includes major Montana newspapers, is eroding.
Time will tell. We must keep the pressure on. Please, everyone, do not make nicey with Max. Badmouth him at every venue, on every forum. Kindness only feeds him.
*The Bozeman Daily Chronicle has in the past been behind a subscription wall. I hope the practice has ended – this article is accessible at the time this is written.
**P.S. Did anyone else see the movie “Wag the Dog”?
Piece of Mindful 
Senator Baucus undoubtedly has a huge role in the health care reform debate. Those of us interested in better health care need to encourage him to consider the role of research in health. I’ve encourage the Sen. to participate in the Your Congress-Your Health initiative to let us know where he stand on issues regarding research in health.
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I’m not so sure. Baucus seems more of an anti-reform boat anchor type, assigned to defend the status quo. And I don’t believe research addresses the most pressing public policy problems: people can’t afford health care costs, and when they really need health care most, insurance companies deny access.
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Interestingly, the reporter who wrote the article was new to the Chronicle, and she is already gone. They don’t print anything that does not support the industry view except letters. None of our press releases have been picked up or our calls returned. Yellow journalism is old school; where’s-the-green journalism is now.
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