Politico is reporting that Snowe, Lincoln, and Landrieu have submitted an amendment that would effectively eliminate all state regulations concerning what insurance companies must cover:

SA 2859 Snowe/Landrieu/Lincoln - nationwide plans: deletes state opt out language, adds rating requirements to plan requirements

If you live in a state with strong minimum benefit insurance regulations (California, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont come to mind), you will lose your current health insurance, and your insurance coverage will get worse.

What are nationwide plans? As I explained in an earlier post, they are an idea strongly championed by the health insurance lobby. The Senate bill would effectively nullify current state regulations on what insurance plans must cover by allowing insurance companies to sell "nationwide plans" in any state. These nationwide plans would only be required to meet the minimum coverage benefits mandated by the federal government and the state in which they are based. (Think of the deregulation of the credit card industry.) These nationwide plans could sell in other states, and would be exempt from those states' insurance regulations. In effect, this completely guts state insurance regulation of minimum coverage. Utah, for instance, has very lax regulation, so expect all insurance companies to be based there by 2016.

Currently, the bill has an opt-out to allow states to stop these state-law-violating nationwide plans from being sold in their state. Snowe, Lincoln, and Landrieu want to take away this power from states and force them to allow these national insurance plans to be sold. These three Senators want to take away states' rights to regulate health insurance, and gut many states' insurance regulations. This is a very bad amendment that will make health insurance worse for millions and millions of Americans.

The victims included women who still lived with their murderer and women who had left. All those who had left their abuser had either already obtained or had applied for restraining orders. Guns, no surprise here, were the weapons of choice.

All the news outlets are running stories that explain what an abusive relationship is and where women can go to find help. Domestic violence is a problem of epidemic proportions in our country. All the shelters in Portland are full; they are always full. And, while the experts say the economy is not the reason for the latest crimes, the economy is a major reason that many women in abusive relationships are staying. There is no place for them to go, and no money for them to leave with. And many times leaving the abuser makes the situation worse, and escalates to murder.

My family was lucky. When we finally left my abusive father he followed us and continued to beat the cr@p out of my mother and me, but he didn't kill us. Back in those days (1960s) there were no domestic violence shelters. The phrase "domestic violence" hadn't been coined yet. My mother was counseled by the f*cking priest to stay in her marriage and refrain from doing anything that would upset my father. Things are horrible now, but at the same time better.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate cast its first votes on remaking the nation's health care system Thursday, approving an amendment to safeguard coverage of mammograms and preventive screening tests for women under a revamped system.

The 61-39 vote on a provision by Democrat Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine was the first substantive ballot in an acrimonious debate that promises to go on for weeks, the legislative equivalent of trench warfare.

The vote came after three days of angry debate in which Democrats accused Republicans of stalling to try to kill the bill, and Republicans protested that they were only exercising their right to give the complex legislation full scrutiny.

The first vote was held under a special agreement requiring 60 votes to prevail. The outcome underscored the fragility of the coalition Democrats are counting on to move President Barack Obama's signature issue.

Votes on Medicare were scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Link

The House approved Thursday a measure making the current estate tax rate permanent, overcoming the objections of an unusual coalition of liberal and conservative critics.

The bill passed, 225 to 200, with 26 Democrats joining all Republicans present to vote no. It would make permanent the current estate tax rate of 45 percent, with an exemption of $3.5 million per individual. If Congress does not act, the estate tax would disappear altogether in 2010, then return in 2011 under the higher rates -- 55 percent and a $1 million exemption -- that existed before President George W. Bush took office.

The Senate faces a Dec. 31 deadline to address the issue, but it's not clear when that chamber will find the time to do so in the midst of its marathon health-care debate. It's also unclear whether the House's approach on the estate tax could garner the 60 votes necessary to move forward in the Senate.

Look at these Google search results for pages and pages of uses of this sentence.

"I am surprised, delighted, but mostly humbled to report that I am currently 3rd in Air America's contest to go on a progressive organizing cruise with Rachel Maddow and many others."

The email goes on to urge recipients to hurry over and vote for Mike in the contest.

Wowee-zowee!  An activist's nirvana, a cruise with Rachel Maddow!!!!

And this surprises who?