Some reading on health care reform options

Here's a selection of commentary from Robert Reich, Dean Baker, and others from the NYT:

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/should-the-rich-pay-for-the-uninsured/


And if you haven't seen it, here's Walter Brasch on Prescribing Cake for the Health Care Crisis:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Prescribing-Cake-to-Cure-t-by-Brasch-090720-273.html

My reading is that the final bill will "pay" for reform in one of two ways: either by taxing excessive health care benefits or by some kind of surtax on superearners (over $500,000 per year or so). The latter option seems to be preferred right now, but it's going to be a long process. Dean Baker's anaylsis--that the projected health care reform deficit amounts to .15% of GDP while the military operations in Iraq/Afghanistan is 1%--puts the issue in proper perspective. But, of course, we still haven't gotten at the problems with long-term Medicare and Medicaid (which are much more difficult than the long-term problems with Social Security). But let's tackle one mountain at a time, shall we?