I've been sort of hounding my elected officials lately; sending them poll results, asking them to commit to the public option, following up on their correspondence with me to ask them to please answer my questions instead of responding with canned crap that somebody on their staff wrote.

Seriously, how hard is it to answer the question "Do you support a public option for health insurance?" Yes? No? You haven't made up your mind yet because you get a lot of money from the insurance industry and you're afraid the Republicans will use the issue to run against you in 2010?

I think that about covers it.

But they would never be so candid and I've pretty much had it. I'm going to continue to hound Bayh, Lugar, and Donnelly (my lucky triumverate), and when their responses are stupid, I'm going to post them, word for word. When their responses are thoughtful and measured, I'll post those too.

Just kidding. When was the last time a member of Congress ever gave a thoughtful or measured response?

So, here's Bayh. You might want to have a cup of coffee before diving in:

Thank you for contacting me regarding health care reform. I appreciate hearing your thoughts and understand your concerns.

The rising cost of health care and the growing number of uninsured Americans has highlighted the critical need for health care reform.  Many individuals and families are unable to receive vital health services under the structure of the current system.  I receive letters from constituents on a wide range of health care issues, such as prescription drug affordability, tax credits for health care expenses, and coverage of college students.  Please know that I am aware of these challenges and committed to improving access to affordable health care and addressing the needs of those who are uninsured.

Earlier this year, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 was enacted to insure 11 million more children.  The legislation included pediatric quality provisions from the Children's Health Care Quality Act (S. 225) that I introduced to address the urgent need to resolve quality care issues widespread in children's health care practices and make publicly available information on the quality of health care provided to children.  I have fought successfully for the return of over $150 million in promised federal funds to Indiana to finance health insurance for lower-income Hoosier children.  Most recently, I voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was enacted on February 17, 2009.  Aimed at creating or saving 3.5 million good-paying jobs nationwide through 2010, the economic recovery package also provides Indiana with an estimated $1.4 billion in additional targeted federal matching funds to prevent Medicaid eligibility cuts and to maintain services.

The economy is an important issue to Americans, and we cannot address the economy without talking about health care.  A growing threat to our economy is the skyrocketing cost of health care.  The U.S. system is the world's costliest; the country spends some $2.4 trillion a year on health care.  An estimated 46 million people are uninsured, and many others lack adequate insurance.  Businesses also find themselves in a challenging position to continue to provide health care insurance for their employees.  Our priority should be to fix the system as we know it, to ensure that there is access to good, quality health care for Americans.

While we are in the early stages of the debate on health care reform, there are many questions regarding the role of the private and public sector.  Due to increasing co-pays, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs, many are calling for insurance regulation.  Advances in health information technology are also being discussed, as electronic medical records could significantly reduce administrative costs.  However, there are serious privacy and security concerns.  Accountability measures such as patient notifications and patient control of personal health information must be explored in order to ensure adequate privacy protections.

As the debate unfolds, I support fiscally sound reform built on our current health care system that aims to provide Americans with affordable health care.  Rest assured that I will keep your concerns in mind as the debate continues.  I will continue to do my best to achieve solvent, bipartisan solutions that provide high-quality, affordable healthcare to as many Americans as possible.