White House defends costs, cuts in health bill
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-ge ... alth.Care/
In a conference call with reporters, Orszag said such critics are overlooking key provisions in the Senate bill. He cited a recent letter from 23 prominent economists praising four main features:
_ Making the federal deficit level or lower over 10 years.
_ Taxing high-cost, employer-provided insurance plans, which are blamed for overuse of medical care.
_ Creating a commission to recommend ways to control Medicare costs.
_ Taking preliminary steps to encourage more efficient ways to deliver health care.
The Senate bill "includes these four pillars," Orszag said.
So there you go. These are the "features". Feature 1 - OK, that's a promise I hear from every politician... now let's see them actually do that. 2 - Do we really overuse medical care? Maybe some people, but others are denied care. Some die because the insurer refuses the treatment. What is it like, 45,000 people a year? I don't know about this one. 3 - Uh, a commission that will "recommend stuff". So I take it they still don't have a clue how to lower the cost. 4 - What? Preliminary steps to... forget about it.
Sorry, not impressed. I need details that actually make sense to me.