Stop Calling Sick People 'Consumers'

This could be the last chance to rein in Medicare costs

(NEWSER) - Centrist senators worried about the fiscal burden of the health care bill should be asking themselves what will happen if it doesn't pass, writes Paul Krugman. The legislation almost certainly represents the last chance to rein in Medicare costs, the main cause of projected future deficits, before they cause a budget catastrophe, Krugman writes in the New York Times. More»

Krugman: White House plan not all that radical

(NEWSER) - Investor's Business Daily made a howler when it said the British physicist Stephen Hawking "wouldn't have a chance" under the UK's health care, but for Paul Krugman, the "vile and stupid" editorial missed the point. Obamacare doesn't look like the British system, in which government runs hospitals and pays doctors. Rather, it resembles the Swiss model, using regulation and subsidies for private companies to make sure everyone has coverage. More»

(NEWSER) - The mob-like scenes at recent town halls are "something new and ugly," writes Paul Krugman, who notes that 2005's protests against Social Security privatization never saw baying crowds and congressmen hanged in effigy. The New York Times columnist is unconvinced that the mobs are in the pay of well-organized conservative groups. Rather, they're genuinely angry—and are nursing "the same cultural and racial anxiety that's behind the birther movement." More»

Public wants a public option; why do 'centrists' oppose it?

(NEWSER) - Now ought to be a good time to reform health care. With costs up and coverage down, polls show the public overwhelmingly favors change. Unfortunately, “a handful of Democratic senators are still determined to party like it’s 1993,” writes Paul Krugman of the New York Times. These so-called “centrists” want to kill the best reform idea: a public insurance option that drives down costs through competition. More»

Choice of provider could have big effect on your premiums

(NEWSER) - Yet another factor that could put a crimp in your wallet when it comes to health care: The cost of procedures such as colonoscopies, mammograms, and Pap smears vary wildly across the nation, according to a new report picked up by USA Today . Researchers found that colonoscopies, for instance, could total anywhere between $786 and $1,819, depending on such factors as where you live and whether you have it done in a hospital or a doctor's office. More»