Washington, D.C. – USAction today called on the Senate Finance Committee to rewrite Sen. Max Baucus' health care bill so that it guarantees Americans good health insurance they can afford with the choice of a strong national public health insurance option.

As it stands, USAction Program Director Alan Charney said the Baucus legislation is a a failure for consumers but a gift for the insurance industry. "The legislation fails to meet the most basic premise of health care reform – quality, affordable health care for every American," Charney said. "Conversely, the bill would gift-wrap and hand deliver a government-subsidized monopoly to the private insurance industry to sell their most profitable plans – high deductible insurance – without having to face competition from a public health insurer."

USAction and its 24 state affiliates are part of Health Care for America Now, the nation’s largest health care reform campaign. On Tuesday, USAction affiliates will be participating in "Big Insurance: Sick Of It" events across the country to highlight private health insurance industry abuses and the need for reform.

USAction and its state affiliate, West Virginia Citizen Action Group, also singled out Sen. Jay Rockefeller for his leadership on health care reform, specifically his insistence that legislation include a public health insurance option.

Gary Zuckett, executive director of WV Citizen Action, noted that Rockefeller has a long history for fighting for increased health access and affordability, and was essential in gaining passage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program in the late 1990s. "West Virginia Citizen Action is proud of the strong position he has maintained on providing a public health insurance option and his challenge to the insurance industry to curb their unfair and harmful practices," Zuckett said.