Reply #52: Dean supports the bill.

[Scarsdale Vibe]

If lawmakers are interested in ensuring that government affordability credits are spent on health-care benefits rather than insurers' salaries, they need to require state-based exchanges, which act as prudent purchasers and select only the most efficient insurers. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) offered this amendment during the Finance Committee markup, and Democrats should include it in the final legislation. A stripped-down version of the current bill that included these provisions would be worth passing.

This is Dean's op-ed in the Washington Post today, and the prudent purchasing that he wants in order to support the bill is already in it on pages 131-144. John Kerry said today, "The prudent purchasing provisions in the Senate health bill will lower costs and increase affordable options for consumers. It’s strong language that will allow the exchange to deliver competitive prices and offer high quality care, and I’m thrilled to see national reform honor the best innovations already succeeding in Massachusetts. "

Maybe Dean thought those provisions had been stripped from the bill, but they haven't. So, if he's true to his word, he actually supports passing the bill in its current form.