So, I had this whole top 10 list, end-of-the-year, thing planned for my last post of 2009, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans…
See, as I worked through my New Year's shopping list (complete with sparkling cider for the short Storeys in attendance this year), I couldn't help but notice – again – the conflicting goals of the House and Senate health care bills. Both promise to scare up trillions in Medicare savings over the next decade to cover millions of uninsured.
And while we're at it, the bills also promise a way to shore up the troubled Medicare trust fund. Talk about fuzzy math.
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I also (finally) felt a little vindicated by yesterday's New York Times op-ed piece that expounded concerns I brought up about this months ago: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/health/policy/29health.html
The column takes aim at Congressional Budget Office and the practice of so-called double counting. (Yeah, I had a boss who did that. She was 39 for at least 10 years.)
So, as we turn out the lights on another decade, where will we find ourselves the next time around? Will there even be a trust fund on Dec. 2019? Or will we all find ourselves standing in line for government health?
Happy new year.
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