O backs down

It seems that the Obama health plan is falling to pieces as Obama backs down from many of his prior positions. Today, administration oficials made clear that they would settle for co-op insurance providers instead of the public option. Supposedly, this will provide competition for private insurers. No one has yet explained why the 1400 insurance companies already in the market do not provide that competition. Nevertheless, for someone who wholeheartedly endorsed a single payer system during the campaign (something which goes way beyond a public option), Obama has retreated awfully quickly. I guess it is change that we can believe in with regard to his priciples. Beyond this, the so-called death panels are also being removed from the bill. Another retreat by the big O. (That is pronounced the big Zero for those who need assistance).

Hopefully, we will not now see Republicans coming forward to let Obama off the hook by passing a watered down version of Obamacare. There remain many, many terrible provisions in the bill. Most important is the issue of rationing. Obama still plans to increase coverage to millions of people while simultaneously removing some 500 billion dollars from Medicare and medicaid so as to pay for those newly covered. Someone will have to determine what portion of the current care received by the elderly will be removed to make up for this 500 billion dollar cut. There may be no "death panels", but there will still be a rationing body that will be telling the elderly that it is just to expensive to keep them alive.

No Republican should ever agree to a system that allows this to happen.

Further, when we hear about how it is just waste and fraud being removed from the system, we should suggest that congress take whatever steps it can to remove that waste immediately. After we see a two year trial run that shows that there is a real savings being achieved, then, and only then, should anyone consider additional expenses made with some of the savings. Even at that point, enough of the savings should be kept so that Medicare will not go bankrupt in a few years.