Right-Wing Health Care Plan: No Reform Needed

Could Paul Ryan's opinion-piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel be any more disingenuous regarding health care reform? He suggestively questions, "As we move forward with reform, should we shift the decision-making power to the federal government, or should we look to empower the patient and the doctor?"

The patient and the doctor did have power until HMOs were allowed to dominate the system. The right-wing cabal was more than happy then to allow these private insurers to get between the doctor and the patient. And this has been largely responsible for the skyrocketing costs, less-than-stellar outcomes, and the large number of uninsured.

Now we're supposed to believe they are genuinely interested in reversing this?

Costs were not a problem for the Republicans when they pushed through Bush's Medicare Prescription Plan.

Also, their "rationing" talking-point doesn't hold water either.

The most important thing to remember in this debate is that as long as private insurers are involved, our health care will be compromised.

For Further Reading:
A Short History of Health Care
Bad Policy, Bad Medicine
Health Care Crisis and What To Do About It
Health Care Rationing Rhetoric
Private Health Insurance Is Not The Answer
Revised Estimated Cost of Drug Plan
The Reality of Rationing
The U.S Has Been Rationing Care For Years
Why Markets Can't Cure Health Care