Two Helpful Primers on the Health Care Reform Debate
If you’re like me, busy working ten hours a day or so, the claims and counterclaims in the current “discussion” over health care reform may lead you a bit confused, with little opportunity to check the veracity of the claims.
Here are two overviews of the health care reform issue and the arguments advanced by its advocates and opponents.
One from The New York Times and the other from The Wall Street Journal.
What interests me is that the Times piece, coming from a paper generally considered more liberal in its bias, seems to mete out equal shots to both Democrats and Republicans for their bullet points in their current August Congressional recess slugfest.
Both papers make many of the same points about key provisions of the one Senate bill and the two House bills currently under consideration and which, eventually, on passage, would have to go through a reconciliation process.
The Journal‘s overview.
The Times‘ overview.
There’s so much misinformation and, seemingly, disinformation out there. But these two balanced pieces helped to clarify things for me.
I hope that they do the same for you.
[This has been crossposted at my personal blog.]
7 Responses to “Two Helpful Primers on the Health Care Reform Debate”
From the WSJ: “It is crunch time for health care. Lawmakers who are trying to fundamentally remake one-sixth of the U.S. economy say this might be the most complicated legislation they have undertaken.{
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Right there you lost me. This isn't a complicated issue. Elected officials taking bribes and hopeful MedMob goons want everyone to think it's a complicated issue. The scary thing is that it isn't. Taking money and providing a service isn't complicated. Finding funding for the public option isn't complicated. Single-payer option or public option is a matter of finding revenues via a small premium and then taxing health-harming substances. Education and the relief of stress and worry about keeping one's job, one's retirement and so forth disappear and are replaced with productivity and a nation that is wealthy enough to support the health of its citizens.
It's simple. People saying it's complicated have a ve$ted intere$t in making it seem so..
I do think that the legislation being offered is complicated because it's approaching a number if different issues that could, possibly, have been addressed in more piecemeal fashion. But it is true that the more ambitious a piece of legislation, the more moving parts, the easier it becomes for larger interestes to control.
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Hi “MJDaniels53″ welcome to TMV.
This proposed bill is no more complicated than any other and all of them get passed just fine. The only thing complicating this bill is elected officials taking bribes to say that it's complicated.
If people understood the truth that it is simple and straightforward just like Obama says, to introduce a larger more fine-tuned and honed version of Medicare to provide competition for MedMob and coverage for all, then they would not be afraid right? Everyone is used to and accepts, even depends on Medicare without exception. Maybe it should just be renamed “The Medicare Reform Bill” and voila! a tiger turns into a fuzzy warm kitten in your lap.
Thanks for bringing the two articles to our attention.
This morning's New York times also happens to have, as an Op-Ed piece, “Why We Need HealthCare Reform,” by someone who has been intimately involved with this issue. Somewhat subjective, but nevertheless worth reading.
But almost as interesting (perhaps more interesting) are the almost 400 readers' reactions, from a short and sweet “Sounds good to me,” to a somewhat lengthier:
“Sorry, no sale. The same Congress that brought us TARP with multi million dollar bonuses for the crooked / inept bankers and broker that nearly ruined this country are going to “reform” health care. NO THANKS. I make well under $100K and my biggest expense is not health care, or housing or food or clothing but TAXES. Yes giving free health care to 40 million people will save money. SURE. P.S. the 40 million includes illegal aliens according to Pew Research as reported by NYT. So you Mr. President are lying about the number of people without insurance or you are completely ignorant of the basic facts. Which ever is the case, it does not inspire much trust or confidence.”
And everything in between…
Oh, by the way, the author of the Op-Ed is President Barack Obama.
Dorian
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/opinion/16oba…
Silhouette, I think you summed it up nicely. It would be one thing if we were reinventing the wheel, but there are plenty of other governments out there with some form of government run health plan that are far superior to what we're using. And these government programs have produced very clear results. So it's not as if we have to figure out from scratch how to improve our own health care or guess as to what might happen. We know. Heck, even Congress has a wonderful government plan that they can use as a starting point.
“Sorry, no sale. The same Congress that brought us TARP with multi million dollar bonuses for the crooked / inept bankers and broker that nearly ruined this country are going to “reform” health care.
For all the writer knows, the “ruined” scenario might well have been averted by the actions congress took. And btw, “congress” didn't give any bonuses. Presumption anyone?