Here’s your morning healthcare roundup. First up is Bruce Bartlett, who, after a long technical explanation about how Medicare premiums work, summarizes a recent roll call on a bill that blew yet another hole in the deficit by preventing a scheduled premium increase even for very wealthy seniors:
The main people affected by this situation are those with high incomes for whom paying $6 to $16 a month extra can hardly be considered burdensome…. Interestingly, the only representative willing to speak against this unjustified give-away was House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md…..Even many of the Congress’ strongest budget hawks were AWOL in this case. Among those voting for it were right-wing heroes Ron Paul, R-Texas, and Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. Nor was I able to find anything about this legislation on the Web sites of various conservative think tanks.
No surprise here. A few months ago conservatives decided that reining in spending was good for townhall speeches, but nothing to actually be taken seriously. Much better to have a campaign issue against Democrats.
Reading on, here’s a Bloomberg story about some real socialized medicine:
After serving in Vietnam and spending three decades in the U.S. Navy, [Rick] Tanner retired in 1991 with a bad knee and high blood pressure. He enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration and now benefits from comprehensive treatment with few co-payments and an electronic records system more advanced than almost anywhere at private hospitals.
“The care is superb,” said Tanner, 66, a San Diego resident who visits the veterans medical center in La Jolla, California, and a clinic in nearby Mission Valley. The record- keeping, he said, is “state of the art.”
….The system is a larger enterprise than that envisioned for the so-called public option being considered by Congress, where the government would run a nonprofit insurer as an alternative to the private industry, not provide care. That hasn’t stopped opponents such as House Republican leader John Boehner from warning that President Barack Obama favors “government-run health care,” a criticism that bothers many veterans.
“I really get annoyed every time I hear these talking heads talking about ‘the government can’t run anything,’” said John Rowan, 64, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America, who visits a New York clinic for complications from contact with the chemical Agent Orange. “Most veterans would give it a fairly good rating.”
Like they say, read the whole thing. And finally, here’s Kirk Nielsen on the cost of a single night at the hospital after feeling some chest pains:
The doc soon arrived, said my heart was fine and handed me an instruction sheet with two recommendations: ibuprofen or Tylenol, and antacids. Who knew? Gastroesophageal phenomena can cause dull, throbbing pains above your heart and make your left hand feel cold and tingly. Better safe than sorry.
And who knew that all of this costs only $4,712?
As it turned out, Nielsen was fine. But considering the cost (his share was about $1,000), I wonder if he’ll have second thoughts about heading to the emergency room the next time something like this happens? Should he?
