Nonsense Abounds

I think the Health Care Reform Act (the brain-dead media/Twitter crowd persists in calling it Obamacare) has easily generated the highest bullshit quotient since George invaded Iraq - somewhere in the 80% range.  (I sincerely doubt the Iraq BS ratio of nearly 100% will ever be surpassed).

Sarah Palin's "death panels" are alive and well, although as with everything else that comes out of her mouth she got it wrong -- they are really the health insurance companies who quite literally decide who gets to  live or die (and in the case of about 50% of the American population) who even gets to play in the lottery they run.  Buy them enough yachts and vacation homes...and they might just let you live. Refuse to play...and you are on your own, depending on "charity care" from medical providers which drives up costs for the insured, etc., etc.

Now our state has published rates for companies that will initially appear on its state-run insurance exchange.   Surprise, surprise...rates are at least marginally lower than before, many more people are covered, and the coverage is of a much higher and more consistent quality and breadth than before. 

Keep in mind one thing the media seems to have trouble understanding -- these insurance exchanges are not required of everybody -- if you have employer-sponsored coverage you will probably still do better there.  These exchanges  are for the majority of the population who does not have employer-sponsored coverage or that has no coverage at all.

How can making things better, more healthy for people be a bad thing?  How can remembering our dedication to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" be a bad thing?  How can pulling the US out of the second-world mire it is in for health care up to the rest of the first-world countries be bad?