For decades, the American people have had their pockets picked by an abusive private health insurance system. In 2008, they voted majorities of Democrats into the House and Senate, hoping for reform of the health care system. The Senate Finance Committee spent months formulating a bill that is simply a more generous gift to the same health insurance industry.

It is now clear that no senator or representative who -- like finance committee chair Sen. Max Baucus -- receives campaign contributions from the health care industry, whether directly or through a political action committee, can be trusted to do anything other than support the health care industry. Members of Congress who have taken campaign contributions from this industry have a clear and overriding conflict of interest. The American people have a right to demand that they recuse themselves from deliberations on this issue.

Reform of the health insurance industry must be left to those few senators and representatives who take no money from the health industry and who therefore represent only the voters who elected them and not the corporations who have paid them to block reform.

Jennifer MacAdam

River Heights