On Wednesday, former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean argued that the health care overhaul bill taking shape in the US Senate further empowers private insurers at the expense of consumer choice—a claim the White House rejected.

Dean, a physician, said, “You will be forced to buy insurance. If you don’t, you’ll pay a fine. It’s an insurance company bailout.” In an interviewed on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” he said the bill has some good provisions, “but there has to be a line beyond which you think the bill is bad for the country.”

The former Democratic presidential candidate said, “This is an insurance company’s dream. This is the Washington scramble, and it’s a shame.”

The Senate’s health care bill would not prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage for preexisting conditions, Dean argued. He added that it would allow the industry to charge older people far more than others for premiums.

(article and photo source: The Associated Press)