My friend Brian Christiansen posted this one at his tumblr, Off The Grid, but I wanted to feature it here as well. Check out our health care spending per person, as compared with other countries of the first world:
Another interesting read on the health care topic is this article, The Rest is Just Noise, at, of all places, The New Republic.
The New York Times published a really great article yesterday evening: Details on Health Care Bills in House, Senate. The article details the two House bills and single Senate bill that have been proposed to enact reform in the healthcare industry.
The first bill, The House Democratic bill (Affordable Health Care for America Act), is the most ambitious, and, to my eyes, the most forward-thinking. It proposes a public option, requirements for healthcare, hardship subsidies, and yes, new taxes. It also provides for a removal of antitrust exemptions that the healthcare industry currently enjoys. This is the bill I’d love to see passed, but it’s gonna be tough. Call your Representative’s office!
The second bill they mention, The House Republican bill (Common Sense Health Care Reform and Affordability Act), is a snake in the grass. It’s costs have yet to be determined, and the changes it makes are nominal only. Reading through the details about this bill it’s hard not to wonder just who these Representatives are, in fact, representing. Most interestingly, it does NOT seek to change the antitrust exemptions.
The third bill, The Senate Democratic bill, is still largely unpublished, so The Times reports what is known. It appears to tread a middle ground between the two House bills, and if it were beefed up slightly in regards to making the public option (either state– or federal-level) a sure thing, I’d be behind this bill as well. While unconfirmed, it’s suggested that a motion to strip those same antitrust exemptions will be made on the Senate floor at some point.
Have my fingers crossed that we see some real positive movement on this!
Really, I love Chez over at Deux Ex Malcontent. He posted this great quote from Keith Olbermann:
Town halls, death panels, oligarhies, a multi-racial president accused of hating half his own ancestry, neuroses about communist artwork, the idea that fascism and socialism are not mutually exclusive, grass roots protests bought and paid for by lobbyists and corporations, scared seniors terrified enough to turn to insurance companies for protection against reformers who want to increase their coverage and cut their rates, Birchers, Birthers, Deathers, the voices in Michele Bachmann’s head, the Republican rebuttal given to the president of the United States given by a guy who thought he could become ‘Lord’ Boustany by paying a couple of English con men. And now to top off this pile of stupidity, Congressman Wrong Way Wilson, who when a president publicly and ostentatiously gave credit for part of his health care reform proposal to the very Republican he swamped in the election last year — Wrong Way Wilson followed that bipartisan gesture by shouting, ‘You lie!’ as soon as he heard the truth. It is this week evident that the greatest threat to this nation is not terrorism, nor the economy, nor H1N1, nor even bad health care. It is rank, willful stupidity.”
(Via Deus Ex Malcontent)
