Healthcare

PBS ran a great special on healthcare last night. Watch the full program here.

Ezra Klein reports that a new CBO reports shows that a good public plan costs less than what was originally thought.

I'm trying to understand why people are against fixing health care. They say that big government is bad. They say that having the government take over healthcare will bankrupt the country. But the country is going to go bankrupt without any change, but it will be the constituents who are going bankrupt first, not the government. So what is the solution here, folks? Tell me alternatives, not just 'no, no, no.' If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem. And if you think I'm wrong with that last statement, read the latest from Ezra Klein on what is coming out of the Republican House leadership.

One other thing. The federal government says that if a person goes to the ER, they must be treated. So then why doesn't the government help hospitals pick up the tab on some of these patients that can't pay? That burden of paying is falling on the states and hospitals to pay, even though the rule to treat is federal. (by the way, that rule makes it illegal to not treat illegal immigrants, so right there you have to confront the illegal immigrant issue, which is something the federal government has yet to address).

Here is a list of least-liked folks (in order of least disliked to most disliked) who are considered to be right-of-center, according to 260 right-wing bloggers. I think if the republican party wants to turn things around with a majority of Amercians, they should listen to these folks, not reject them.