I think Republicans are succeeding at scaring people over health care again.

[Torie]

The trillion dollar number floating around cannot help, particularly in this economy and with spending out of control on seemingly everything else. It would have been wiser to focus on targeted insurance premium subsidies, and taking some action to make health insurance more transparent and portable.

[Torie]

We all know what the end game of this, don't we, which is absolutely necessary. The word I am thinking of starts with an "r."  The trick is how to effect "r" politically, which is damn tough. Do you get my drift?

[Torie]

From the last poll I could find:

Who do you trust to do a better job handling health care reform: Obama or the Republicans in Congress?

Obama 54%
Republicans 34%

Ya, my party is singularly ineffectual at present, so the rating is deserved.

[Torie]

We all know what the end game of this, don't we, which is absolutely necessary. The word I am thinking of starts with an "r."  The trick is how to effect "r" politically, which is damn tough. Do you get my drift?

Yes, reform is always difficult, as the deck is stacked strongly in favor of the status quo.

No the "r" word is "rationing."  Write it down.

[Torie]

I'd like to know what the Republicans are pushing for healthcare reform?

The party of no is fresh out of ideas.

They are pushing for more competition and transparency, and have some good ideas about it, but can't get their arms around how to deal with the uninsured, and if you don't deal with that, along with the skyrocketing cost of all these new medical technologies, you just aren't in the game, but nibbling around the edges. It is pathetic really.

[Torie]

We all know what the end game of this, don't we, which is absolutely necessary. The word I am thinking of starts with an "r."  The trick is how to effect "r" politically, which is damn tough. Do you get my drift?

Yes, reform is always difficult, as the deck is stacked strongly in favor of the status quo.

No the "r" word is "rationing."  Write it down.

Well, we have rationing in the current system, too.....just from a different source.

Well it isn't working very well. My dad was diagnosed with a cancer at 84 that after a week of research I knew was 100% fatal, and after surgery and all the rest, it cost the state 150K in 1991 dollars.  He was a medicare. That is insane. The only rationing really is efficacy, or certain therapies that are not covered, like the one's I am on to make an old body feel young again. That is just not enough. Sure the uninsured are rationed to qualifying for the emergency room (also insane), but they are what - 20% of the population?  Something will change, and soon, because the current system is collapsing without more rational rationing, and the issue now is how to get there, without freaking out the public - which is why politicians don't talk about it. They are scared sh**tless.