by Tom Gallagher
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Amid the white-hot anger by many conservatives, including the gun-toting ones, concerning "health care reform," few seem to get into any specifics. Rather, they stay up in the clouds of pejorative words like "socialism," "big government," "death panels," and the like. I have asked some of these folks for specific proposals with which they are in disagreement. The ones with whom I chatted at length could give no specifics.
Joe Klein of Time magazine writes in the August 10, 2009, issue about how special interests "trump the common good," when it comes to health care reform.
Importantly, Klein highlights Oregon's Senator Ron Wyden (D), who offers the "best constructed health care bill. It addresses the major health-care issues, and importantly, has 14 bipartisan co-sponsors."
"It covers everyone and offers more choices, it reforms the health-insurance business, it alleviates the responsibility of employers, it has a robust cost-control mechanism, and it has been scored as revenue-neutral over 10 years by the Congressional Budget Office."
Here is the list of Republican co-sponsors of this Democratic health care reform proposal:
1. Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT)
2. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
3. Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH)
4. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID)
5. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN)
6. Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) (Ret.)
7. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
... hardly a wild-eyed bunch of Republicans.
For those who actually care about serious, thoughtful health care reform, take a few minutes and read the summary of Senator Wyden's proposal and the proposal itself.
http://wyden.senate.gov/newsroom/free_choice_proposal.pdf
http://wyden.senate.gov/issues/Legislation/Healthy_Americans_Act.cfm