CHICAGO – Let's recap: We received a massive – and still largely undefined – body of health care legislation earlier this year to expand health insurance coverage while holding down costs.
So imagine my confusion as I look through the week's headlines while waiting for an all-too-early flight back home.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs off on a pair of bills to expand coverage to between 25,000 and 30,000 Californians whose pre-existing conditions have prevented them from getting private insurance. And it's only going to cost us around $760 million or so to fund the high-risk pool to pay for these individuals. And yes, I say us, because those are federal dollars, so we're all footing that bill (as if California could afford one more entitlement program). And, anyone want to start taking odds on how quickly that budget's going to run off the rails?
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Meanwhile, back at the drive-through, we' got more breaking news. Yes, we're getting fatter. Still (or is it again?). A new obesity report (how many of these do we do a year?) just came out with the sobering finding that obesity rates have continued to climb in 28 states. The only drop came out of the District of Columbia (which must mean the only pork they're cutting is the one from the kitchen). The Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report found adult obesity rates jumped over 25 percent in those 28 states. And keep in mind that no state boasted an obesity above 20 percent less than 20 years ago. In fact, Colorado – the nation's thinnest – is the only state left with a rate under 20 percent.
I suppose it's no wonder then that Americans appear to be warming to health reform. At least according to one Kasier Family Foundation study where 48 percent of those surveyed claim they had "a favorable view of the law in June while 41 percent had an unfavorable opinion. A month earlier, the split was 41 percent favorable to 44 percent unfavorable."
So, I guess we really are fat and happy. Either that, or it just takes too much effort to complain anymore.
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