Us Congress Passes Health Care Bill

[ttbrowne]

Originally Posted by Vyse

explain to me how this is good?

I would...but it would be way over your head.

[RD 7]

Originally Posted by Enlightened Coelacanth

Why does this argument have to be about a choice between the status quo and handing over thirty percent of the economy to the democratic party to wield like a big lollipop, or bullwhip, as they see fit?

You might be right. We've had this argument enough to know where the other stands. Not much more to add. We agree on more than you think: I don't see team Pelosi creating a health care utopia. Is there a way, without blowing up the system, to deal with some potential sharks in the water, i.e., if costs continue to explode at 5x the rate of inflation, will we eventually cross a line where too many hard working consumers are rendered insolvent by health costs? Real economic growth depends on a financially viable middle class of consumers -- one that isn't bankrupted in order to sustain the margin of [what looks like a monopoly with excessive political influence]. [different topic>drugs: we want LLY to get rich because they create a life-improving drug, not because they buy legislation. At some point we might want to address these market distortions]

Nobody knows how the public option would play out, e.g., would it add genuine competition or put Aetna out of business? Remember: Reagan predicted the end of the world with Medicare. He thought it would lead to the death of the private sector -- or at least a huge section of it. He predicted a nightmare where doctors would be told where to live and elderly patients would be found dead in hospital lobbies.

We've seen the opposite. The private sector got stronger and nobody wants their medicare to be taken away. Paying for it is the problem -- and Washington is too addicted to pork, corporate welfare, and misguided war to make room for the health of hard working Americans.

I don't think insurance companies are evil. They are merely following the rules as they exist. The failure is one of political will, allowing for too much consolidation and legislative tinkering. The failure is bipartisan.

Ultimately, the problem with this current bill is the problem with every bill: political machines with a direct financial stake in the outcome are feeding people who have not read the bill talking points.

I doubt Reagan would have predicted that his party would some day be rallying medicare recipients to the GOP cause. I guess it's hard to know which slippery slopes are real and which are political theater. Again, you might be right, but you might be wrong. We don't know how the slope will slip. All we know is that SS and Medicare didn't turn us into the Soviet Union, as predicted. To the contrary, the private sector has continued to live like kings and gain power over our political machinery. [Can Pelosi fix any of this? I agree with you that this question is more like a punchline]

[mlee2]

So far, the consensus seems to be that insurance companies love this bill. A mandate that forces people to get insurance, increases the number of potential customers to all of America. A massive increase in potential customers is a boon for Aetna, UnitedHealth, etc. even if their profit margins shrink.

Most of what I've seen in this bill drives down price of service rather than cost of service and there is a big difference between the two. Increasing the insurance pool will decrease costs of those who are already insured, at the expense of forcing people into the system (who were previously paying $0).

This bill doesn't address the COSTS of service such as med school tuition, malpractice insurance, unnecessary testing, and highly specialized million-dollar equipment in the U.S. If the bill focused more on regulating these COSTS rather than the PRICE of medical care, free market competition amongst doctors and health care companies might actually work.

[plumcrazy]

How are we going to pay for this bill? I love how Pelosi compared this bill to the signing of the great Medicare and SS bills. Those programs are doing well aren't they.

[vandre]

Originally Posted by Enlightened Coelacanth

assuming it gets rammed down the public's throat

just like serena said she was going to do!

[vandre]

Originally Posted by plumcrazy

How are we going to pay for this bill? I love how Pelosi compared this bill to the signing of the great Medicare and SS bills. Those programs are doing well aren't they.

because they're run by the govt!