If my vote is to be counted, let it now count for passage of the bill, hopefully in the direction of comprehensive health care reform.
Of course. As we have been saying all along, the Democrat bill is the first domino in a series that ends with what Kucinich deems "comprehensive health care reform," and what a normal person would call "government-run health care." It's foolish for leftists to want to kill this bill because it isn't lefty enough - all they need is to proceed in steps until their ultimate vision is realized.
but we are so far from any of the western European countries. Insurance, doctors, hospitals will all be private owned.
ReplyDeleteI as a liberal am deeply disappointed for no public option.
AND I am deeply disappointed in the lack of cost containment.
Aaron, you wrote: "Insurance, doctors, hospitals will all be private owned."
ReplyDeleteFor now. But as Nancy Pelosi herself said: "Once we kick through this door, there’ll be more legislation to follow." It's an inevitable path.
The student loan "reform" that was slathered on top of the health "reform" bill is a perfect case in point. Years ago, student loans were regulated in similar ways to the way health insurance is now going to be regulated: private banks provided the loans, but the terms were fixed and the loans were guaranteed by the government. Now the government has decided to "cut out the middleman" and make the loans itself. This won't save any money, and it'll cut value-added services banks were providing, but it'll have the effect of entirely nationalizing the student loan market.
Expect the same in health care. All you have to do, as a liberal, is be patient. (But try, if possible, not to be a patient. That's going to become a lot less pleasant.)