Meanwhile, Senate Democrats released a letter received from a group of representatives in consumer, labor and employer organizations, economists and health policy experts addressed to Senators Reid, Max Baucus (D-MT), Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) stating strong support for the Act. The letter stated in part: "As representatives of consumer, labor, and employer organizations, economists and health policy experts who have spent years dedicated to increasing health care coverage, improving quality, and 'bending the cost curve,' we applaud the Senate for creating a deliberate and meaningful proposal that will expand access to insurance, ensure better quality care and value for our health care dollars, and make unprecedented strides in addressing the growth in health care costs.

...The bill's innovative provisions in the way health services are delivered and paid for in the Medicare program are vital to preserving and protecting Medicare for the long term. They are also highly significant to the cost containment efforts in the private sector. We believe that what you have put in the legislation can and must create the foundation for aligning efforts between the public and private sectors as we test and expand new models of payment focused on improving value for all patients and payers. Our goal must be to improve quality and reduce cost growth for all Americans in both the public and private sectors."


Not much word from the White House as yet, but Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stated that the President will continue to play a role in getting the legislation through the process, and would continue to talk to legislators about the importance of getting the legislation completed.

"We've never been closer than we are now," Gibbs said. "We've never had a vote in the full House or the full Senate. And we're going to start debate next week in the Senate, the second part of that process already having gone through the House...the President is pleased that we're continuing to make progress on a bill that would make health care more affordable for people that have it, provide increased accessibility for those that don't, provide some important insurance reforms, as well as bend the cost curve and change the deficit over the next 10 years."

Finally, the Kaiser Family Foundation released its Kaiser Health Tracking Poll for November 2009 which demonstrates little movement in public opinion about health reform. In the new findings, affordability was a key priority for Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, deficit neutrality was a key priority for Republicans and independents and providing enough government financial help for uninsured people to obtain health insurance ranked as a top priority for Democrats. A public option ranked near the bottom of the list among all three political persuasions in priority. Nonetheless, a good majority of Americans support a public option (59%).

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