Health Care Reform

I know it's been a while since I posted anything with a political bent, but the time has come to speak up.

First of all let me speak to the Baucus plan. How Max is considered a Democrat is a topic for another time. For now, I'll just say this plan is a farce and a cynical person might propose that it was put forth to rally the American Middle Class against health care reform since it includes several key items that are completely unacceptable to most Americans.


* Allowing Insurance companies to charge up to 5x more in premium rates based on age is absurd and will only ensure that millions of people cannot afford insurance.

* Couple the provision above with a penalty for not having insurance and you effectively kick people when they are down. The whole idea of a mandatory insurance provision is to buffer the pool of insured with relatively healthy people tp help offset the risk associated with insuring older and/or more seriously ill people.

* Cooperatives that would be created by this plan would lack the power to negotiate rates and would therefore be rendered impotent in their ability to garner fair and affordable rates for the people who need them most.

* The lack of a public option clearly stands to appease irrational fears of insurance company executives who do not want the perceived competition that a public option could bring.

Let's hope that the other members of the Finance Committee kill this where it stands and let the other proposal from the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee head to the full Senate for a vote and progress towards the eventual reconciliation process.

At least we're all still talking about the issue. That, in itself, should be considered progress these days.