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Tear it up and throw it out, Krauthammer opines on the Democrat's 4000-page-plus boondoggles. It's too big and brazen, and completely misses mention of three of the most important 'reforms' that are absolutely necessary to fix health care: Tort Reform, allowing Interstate Purchase of Health Insurance, and taxing employer-provided health care to provide a pool for indigent uninsured health care. Krauthammer, on my favored reform, the 'Sit Down and Shut Up, John Edwards!' version, Tort Reform...

First, tort reform. This is money -- the low-end estimate is about half a trillion per decade -- wasted in two ways. Part is simply hemorrhaged into the legal system to benefit a few jackpot lawsuit winners and an army of extravagantly rich malpractice lawyers such as John Edwards.

The rest is wasted within the medical system in the millions of unnecessary tests, procedures and referrals undertaken solely to fend off lawsuits -- resources wasted on patients who don't need them and which could be redirected to the uninsured who really do.

In the 4,000-plus pages of the two bills, there is no tort reform. Indeed, the House bill actually penalizes states that dare "limit attorneys' fees or impose caps on damages." Why? Because, as Howard Dean has openly admitted, Democrats don't want "to take on the trial lawyers." What he didn't say -- he didn't need to -- is that they give millions to the Democrats for precisely this kind of protection.

Interesting that the White House, using newly-minted Communication Director Dan Pfeiffer, is taking a swing at Krauthammer. From Newsbusters dot org...

According to the incoming White House communications director, the Senate's proposal does all that and more. However, it doesn't go to the extent of "tort reform, interstate purchasing and taxing employee benefits" as Krauthammer suggested. Pfeiffer explains the Senate version offers a "voluntary state incentive grants program" for tort reform, imposes a fee on "high-cost health care plans" as the taxing component and an allowance for "interstate health care choice compacts" for the interstate purchasing provision. However, none of the components are guaranteed to make it through the Senate's amendment process and/or the House-Senate conference should the bill make it through the Senate.

But Pfeiffer doesn't attack one of the main complaints in Krauthammer's article - the creation of massive bureaucracies in the name of this so-called health care reform.

There's nothing in the White House - Democrat-controlled bill that even comes close to what Mr. Krauthammer suggests as reform. The Tort Reform Pfeiffer mentions is not a sweeping overhaul but a simple Kleenex tissue dabbed on an aneurysm...an ineffective and largely symbolic gesture. Unless and until we hear the lawyers screaming, we won't have real tort reform. I want the John Edwards sorts crying in pain, damnit~!

And I've asked before...how can we allow a government-controlled Public Option (based in Washington, and operating nationwide of course) to exist, with that Public Option allowed to compete against private insurers who by current mandates cannot compete nationwide? It seems a Public Option should require the second leg of Krauthammer's and the Republican's health care reforms, allowing interstate insurance competitiveness for all insurance providers, simply to allow them a chance to continue to exist.

But there's the Democrat's hidden trick...the Public Option will be cheaper than private insurers because private insurers will still be subject to the various state's taxes and regulations; the Public Option will sail right over those state regulations, being a federal program and all. An end-around, an unfair methodology that will kill private insurers and allow the inherent socialism of the Public Option to prevail. Goodbye, private insurers; hello, long lines and 'death panels'. Welcome home, Euroweenie socialisms.

The Democrat Health reform bill is a terrible bill. With the public option still in place, it's a grab handle for Euro-style socialism, a beachhead established for the purpose of ending private health insurance in America.

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