From Mike Shedlock: The Healthcare Bill does not open up competition between states; the Senate version of the bill does not provide for group bargaining of drugs by Medicare and that is what will likely pass, it does not allow drug imports in from Canada, drugmakers won a 12-year period of exclusive sales for brand-name drugs before facing competition from generic rivals which benefits companies like Amgen and Genentech while driving up costs for consumers (Obama wanted a 5-7 year period), it will hurt struggling small business owners who already are reluctant to hire, it allows states to opt out of paying for abortions but that's folly given the huge ongoing costs of unwanted births, and the senate bill granted special favors to senators from several states to buy their vote.
Arguably, one of the few good things in the bill is coverage of preexisting conditions. The rest looks like rancid sausage. The biggest problem is there is not a single thing in the bill guaranteed to lower health care costs. We have to take it on faith that the plan will save money. It won't. However, when your goal is to get something (anything) passed it should be no surprise that the package is as flawed as it is.
Still many Americans are proud {sigh}.Technorati Tags: current events, politics
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