Installment #3

The Dream Ticket has inspired the definition of a new disorder.

Matt Osborne:

Palin-Bachmann Syndrome, defined as the psychological imbalance produced by a toxic mix of right-wing identity politics and diva training.
[M]anifests in the following behaviors: rambling, inane word-salads while speaking in public; paranoid access-control; espousal of fringe insanity; appeal to prejudices.”

Yesterday Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) proudly announced a proposed Finance Committee health-care “reform” bill.

Democratic Underground:

So now Max Baucus will be arguing that we should back a bill that will forever tie the Democratic Party to the Health Insurance Companies, mandate that every American use them, give no public option, while knowing that without any Republican votes will give permission for every Republican running against his colleagues to call every Democrat a socialist while at the same time asking them to vote for a bill that essentially turns the US government into a pimp for a private industry that makes Tony Soprano look like Mahtma Ghandi by comparison.”

What does the stock market think of this bogus Baucus bill that former CIGNA executive Wendell Potter calls “an absolute gift to the industry?”

Campaign Silo:

Shares of U.S. health insurers rose broadly on Tuesday on hopes a health reform bill would not include a government-run option, which has drawn strong opposition from insurers who fear it would destroy the private marketplace.
The S&P Managed Health Care index of large U.S. health insurers closed 6.5 percent higher.”

If we don’t get reform with a strong public option, one that makes the health insurance companies scream, then this effort does not point us in the right direction. The Baucus so-called solution is to stuff more tax-payer subsidized business their way. Meanwhile the cost of health care continues to increase disproportionately.

I don’t blame the health insurance companies for what they’re trying to do. In a for-profit system, they are behaving exactly as they should. They charge what the market will bear, reduce costs, increase profits and protect market share. Their primary allegiance is to the stock holder and the bottom line. Proponents of the status quo should celebrate rescission. These are the essentials of a free-market, for-profit insurance model.

Real reform will only happen when there’s enough bottom-up education to elect enough senators, representatives and a President willing to commit to a single payer, universal coverage system. In the meantime, we haven’t seen the bottom of this mess by a long shot.

The Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing tonight, August 18, on VRE. After nearly two decades, will Spotsylvania finally be ready to join? The hearing will begin at 6:30 PM at Courtland High School, 6701 Smith Station Road.

See the Committee of 500 web site for further information.