All the excitement and buzz right now is centered around the CBO score of the Senate Finance Committee’s health care bill, which was released yesterday from the Congressional Budget Office. This score analyzes the Committee’s legislation and let’s us all know how much reform is going to cost, how many people it will insure and how much revenue it will bring in.

The media and many Congress members are ecstatic about the low number of $829 billion the CBO scored for the cost of this reform package. It seems the Committee’s goal was to meet President Obama’s  key requests for financing health care reform, which were to not add “one dime” to the budget deficit and to keep the cost below $900 billion. Well, Mission Accomplished. However, no one is talking about the fact that the bill will still leave 25 million people uninsured- so of course it is cheap!

25 million people falling through the cracks of what is supposed to be an overhaul of our health insurance system in order to ensure coverage for all Americans is just unacceptable.

25 million people is roughly equivalent to the population of Iowa, Arkansas, Nevada, Maine, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, Connecticut and Louisiana combined.

These nine states just happen to be home to eight Senators, and the Senate Majority Leader, that have played a big part in the creation (or opposition) to this bill. Shall all all those responsible for watering this bill down so thoroughly as to leave the equivalent of their entire home state uninsured really get credit for receiving such a “great” CBO score?

Compared to the HELP bill, the Senate Finance Committee’s bill took longer to complete, it still has not been voted out of committee (vote expected next week at this point), costs more and insures less people. The HELP bill, which is the version of health care reform that the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee created, includes a public option, the Senate Finance bill does not. I’ll let you come to your own conclusions.

The next step is for Senate Finance Committee members to review the CBO score before voting the bill out of their committee next week. Then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will sit behind closed doors with just a few select Senators (most likely Senator Dodd from the HELP committee and Senator Baucus from the Senate Finance Committee) to combine the two versions of health care reform legislation in the Senate. This is where the public option still has a chance. This is where Congress still has a chance to leave no one behind and ensure affordable coverage for all.

Now is the time to let Congress know that we demand real change, not low scores that leave nine states uninsured. Come lobby Congress with us on October 13!