How to Die Quickly

The GOP has finally released a plan of their own for health Care, which I shall call the Boner Bill, after it’s chief proponent.  The graphic represents American consumers’ best option, if the Boner Bill becomes law.

The Wall Street Journal, of all places, had the most accurate headline on the new Republican health care bill set to be unveiled by John Boehner, after months of waiting. The headline was: "GOP Health Bill Gives Insurers More Leeway."

The Wall Street Journal apparently thought that headline was too honest, and the article has subsequently dissapeared from their website, but the Internet has preserved it for us, in a slightly edited form, and the facts speak for themselves:

A House Republican health-care bill wouldn't seek to prevent health insurance companies from denying sick people insurance, Minority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio) said Monday.

…

The bill would allow insurance firms to sell policies across state lines, permit small businesses to pool together to bring down costs they face, implement changes to medical malpractices, and give state governments more flexibility to pursue rule changes in their states.

…

Boehner also said Monday that the Republican plan wouldn't include tax credits for people who buy insurance individually rather than through their employer. He cited the cost of providing those credits as a reason why they wouldn't be included.

Apparently, the forthcoming GOP health care bill operates on the principle that if it's good for insurance companies, it must be good for us.

The Republican bill runs the table on provisions that will increase insurance company profits.

• Make more money by denying care? Check.
• Make more money by ending insurance policies when someone gets sick and actually needs to use the care they paid for? Check. (At least according to the original version of the Wall Street Journal article.)
• Allowing insurers to move to the least-regulated states and sell their junk insurance to the rest of the country? Check.

There's no attempt to expand coverage to people who are dying without it, that would be too costly. And no attempt to shield people from insurance company abuses like denial of care... [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Health Care for America Now>

Boner could not have screwed the American consumer more.  The Boner Bill  ends none of the present Big Insurance abuses, raises costs, and removes insurance company oversight at the state level.  This is not a plan.  It’s a joke, and a foul one at that.  I understand that to thank Boner for his efforts, Big Insurance gave Boner a dose of Viagra.  He got six inches taller.