Call me old fashion, but I still write (aka e-mail) to my senators when they do things that piss me off!

So, when health care reform was still in its infant stages I realized that if all of Congress wasn't on board, then there was most definitely going to be some unnecessary gridlock in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Well, looks like even though the Democrats have a super majority, since there is no party discipline in the U.S. government each politician has used this health care reform legislation as a soap box to bitch.

So I decided to write to one of my Senator's, Diane Finstein, and ask her to please whole-heartedly support this legislation and not slow it down by trying to amend it or over analyze each syllable.

It took almost a month but the Senator did respond back to me (although I bet its probably an automated response).

Here is what she said:

Thank you for writing to me to express your support for health care reform. I appreciate the time you took to write to me, and I welcome this opportunity to convey my opinions on how we should reform our health care system.

I am pleased that you support healthcare reform, as do I. The key is to find a healthcare plan that provides coverage, as well as limits cost. My colleagues in the Senate and I have been working on this, but it is a difficult issue and must be carefully thought out. On November 21, 2009, I voted in support of the motion to proceed to debate on the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." It is my hope that over the next few weeks, the Senate can find common ground to pass meaningful healthcare legislation.

Important measures in the bill that would immediately take effect include the prohibition of coverage denial based on preexisting conditions and the elimination of lifetime and unreasonable annual limits on benefits. Reducing healthcare premium costs is absolutely essential. Between 2000 and 2007, combined profits for 10 of the country's largest publically traded insurance companies rose 428 percent. I am planning to offer an amendment that would create a Medicare Insurance Rate Authority to block inappropriate health insurance increases. The Medical Insurance Rate Authority would review the justifications for premium increases that insurance companies are already required to submit under the bill. The amendment would also require states to adopt state laws on insurance rate reviews that require insurance companies to provide notification of rate increase, and to give an appropriate state authority the ability to block a premium increase that is not justified.

I am also concerned about the rapid growth of entitlement spending, which makes up 56 percent of all federal dollars spent in 2009. Health reform must also slow the growth of entitlements in order to reduce our nation's debt and budget deficit. Any Senate health reform bill must improve California's complex health care system, and please know that I am working hard with my colleagues to make health care affordable for all Americans, without adding to the federal deficit.

Again, thank you for contacting me. If you should have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Also, may I take this opportunity to wish you a happy and healthy holiday season. And may 2010 be a good year for us all.

Sincerely yours, Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

In light of recent news would anyone like to comment on Ms. Finestein's words? Probably not, but I leave you the virtual space to do so if you so please.