[3catsanadog]

Baucus is on TV now and I heard him mention something about uber-taxing the insurance companies (so they stop being naughty, I guess). Does this dimwit not realize that those added costs will be passed down the line to employers and then on down the line to employees with additional health care benefit deduction from their paycheck???? That the employers will eventually say it's cheaper to pay that 8% penalty every year than health care plans for employees. That the employers will say "sorry workers, go get the government plan. Oh, and since Cap and Trade is costing us megabucks, we can't afford to give you all a raise again this year."

No matter what, if all this goes through, the average American will be like a candle burning at both ends - increased costs for food and other necessities, wages that will be lowered or not increase, and increased taxes. If this monstrosity is passed, you know that this administration will be pushing for a national sales tax to pay for this down the road. Americans will be working just to exist and get through another day with food, water, clothing, utilities and gas in the car to go back and forth to work.

[babble-on]

the money is with the doctors, not the insurance companies. Insurance companies are no more profitable here than in other countries. Doctors on the other hand, make far far more here. Lowering health care costs means lowering doctors’ pay, and compensating them partly by doing serious tort reform, and saving them time with reimbursements by rationalizing those schedules