This fall, one of Republicans' top priorities will be to deep-six Obamacare ... and one way to do it might be to point out that the Dems weren't willing to compromise with them on medical malpractice reform. Join beach bums Satan and Sarah Palin for a day of scheming and sunshine in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It!"
Showing posts with label Health Care Reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health Care Reform. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Health Care Reform: A Revolutionary Idea?
Satan, Frank Faust and the ghost of Sam Adams check in on a rally for health care reform -- during a critical stage for the movement -- at the Massachusetts State House in Boston, in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!
Quotes not made by the Devil in the first three panels are more or less verbatim from an actual rally I attended at the State House on Tuesday.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Health Care Costs 'Taxing' Obama, Dems
President Obama's new health care reform plan shows that the history of American health care is as big an obstacle to Obama and the Democrats as is the Republican opposition.
"Officials said the president’s bill was expected to include a version of the Senate’s proposed tax on high-cost, employer-sponsored insurance policies," the New York Times reported.
Ouch. So much for employers getting behind the bill. For it was tax breaks, not tax hikes, that spurred employer-based coverage in the past century.
"In 1943, the Internal Revenue Service ruled that employer-based health care should be tax free," NPR reported. "A second law, in 1954, made the tax advantages even more attractive."
The problem for Obama seems to be where to find the $900 billion that would insure about 30 million Americans by 2019. Taxing employer-sponsored policies is a shortsighted solution, as it would remove one of the incentives for employers to offer health care.
Then again, it's not like there are many more appealing ways. Look at what my home state, Massachusetts, did to fund near-universal care.
"Democrats have already hiked the fines for people who don't obtain insurance under the 'individual mandate,' already increased business penalties, taxed insurers and hospitals, raised premiums, and pumped up the state tobacco levy," the Wall Street Journal noted. "That's still not enough money."
Still, if Obama wants to pass health-care reform, he has to find funding alternatives to taxing businesses. If those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes, those who go against health-care history are doomed to make even worse mistakes.
"Officials said the president’s bill was expected to include a version of the Senate’s proposed tax on high-cost, employer-sponsored insurance policies," the New York Times reported.
Ouch. So much for employers getting behind the bill. For it was tax breaks, not tax hikes, that spurred employer-based coverage in the past century.
"In 1943, the Internal Revenue Service ruled that employer-based health care should be tax free," NPR reported. "A second law, in 1954, made the tax advantages even more attractive."
The problem for Obama seems to be where to find the $900 billion that would insure about 30 million Americans by 2019. Taxing employer-sponsored policies is a shortsighted solution, as it would remove one of the incentives for employers to offer health care.
Then again, it's not like there are many more appealing ways. Look at what my home state, Massachusetts, did to fund near-universal care.
"Democrats have already hiked the fines for people who don't obtain insurance under the 'individual mandate,' already increased business penalties, taxed insurers and hospitals, raised premiums, and pumped up the state tobacco levy," the Wall Street Journal noted. "That's still not enough money."
Still, if Obama wants to pass health-care reform, he has to find funding alternatives to taxing businesses. If those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes, those who go against health-care history are doomed to make even worse mistakes.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Abandon All Hope on Health Care?
My latest cartoon is about the next hurdle for health-care reform in the Senate following Saturday's victory in the House. Anyone know which author inspired the sign Satan places above the Senate chamber?
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