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Health Care Bill a Bloated Mess

Two-thousand page monster is 'irredeemable'

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 27, 2009 10:56 AM CST

(Newser) – The Senate heath care reform bill is an “irredeemable” mess that would create “an overregulated, overbureaucratized system of surpassing arbitrariness and inefficiency,” rails Charles Krauthammer. The problem with our system is that it’s complicated and inefficient, and therefore expensive. But the 2,074-page Senate bill would only make it more complicated, inefficient and expensive, creating “hundreds of new provisions, regulations, mandates, committees, and other arbitrary bureaucratic inventions.”

The bill is loaded with “numbers picked out of a hat,” and mandates controlling what individuals must buy, and insurers charge, writes Krauthammer in the Washington Post. They decree, for example, that 20-somethings will have to pay twice or three times as much in premiums. The right health care bill would be simple, instituting tort reform, abolishing the rule against purchasing insurance across state lines, and taxing employer health benefits. “It would take 20 pages, not 2,000.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, holds a copy of the health care bill, trussed in sturdy rope, in front of the US Capitol during a Republican news conference. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., picks up a copy of the House health care bill HB-3962 after he wheeled it up the steps to the House after a rally against the health care overhaul bill on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

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Insuring the uninsured is a moral imperative. The problem is that the Democrats have chosen the worst possible method — a $1 trillion new entitlement of stupefying arbitrariness and inefficiency. - Charles Krauthammer

But neither bill lifts the prohibition on interstate competition for health insurance. Because this would obviate the need — the excuse — for the public option. - Charles Krauthammer

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 31 comments

cunomor

Nov 28, 2009 12:52 PM CST

Diggler, don't troll these posts looking for reason.

Face-Of-RNC

Nov 28, 2009 10:02 AM CST

OK, so why do the honest business people let the crroks set the pace for government regulation?

SilenceDogood

Nov 28, 2009 8:33 AM CST

FOC, I am sorry you have such a cynical view of business dealings in America, I can only surmise what tragic events lead you to this conclusion. I don’t believe anyone said there should be no regulation, the question has always been how much regulation. Much of the current financial mess can be legitimately traced to two debacles; 1. The repeal of the Glas-Stegal Act by a Republican Congress and signed by Bill Clinton; 2. The intentional lower of lending standards to allow unqualified borrowers to qualify for home mortgages, this was supported by Dems and Republicans. Businesses in America are largely honest companies’ trying to get by, anti-trust is always an issue, but the largest form of business in America is done by small businesses and they deserve our praise and understanding. If you wish to handicap small businesses with more taxes, reporting and various other forms of overhead, then do so. The only people to be hurt are ourselves. The American people have a symbiotic relationship with our business community, one cannot survive without the other, and to harm one is to harm the other.

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Health Care Bill a Bloated Mess