Democrats must be hoping no one is paying attention? I don't get it. What are these Democrats hoping for?

Currently, people who can't afford health insurance, or are denied health insurance, or are too irresponsible to buy health insurance, are still treated at hospitals when they have emergencies. This is paid for by people with health insurance, because it makes their premiums go up.

The problem with this is that it makes no sense from either a health care or an economic perspective, because these people will wait till there is an emergency before they get care. This makes it so any preventative measures will not be taken, causing more health problems down the line, which will be more expensive.

Since we are already paying for the health care of these people, why not figure out how much it is costing us, take that number and use it to give upfront health care that will prevent or cure health problems before they become life threatening emergencies.

Actually, analysis shows preventive care will actually drive up the cost of health care.

The problem of uninsured people is a marginal one... 15 million in a legal population of over 300 million. It does not require the complete destruction of a system that serves 85% of the population very well.

A few commonsense reforms would accomplish most of what's needed; tort reform, reforming tax laws and regulations to make the insurance market more competitive, and a very limited government role in dealing with extreme cases. No death panels, no public option, no more trillions added to the public debt.

One the problems with preventive care, is that you can't make a person do such and such, not in a free country. You can't as yet force people to do all those wonderful healthful things like lose weight, exercise, stop smoking, stop drinking, get all those check-ups done, especially the unpleasant ones, meditate, eat vegetables, stop doing recreational drugs, and put down the bag of cheetos that go along with them. You need a dose of realism, Brandon. You're breathing unicorn farts.

The problem with preventive care is you end up treating a lot of people who never would have gotten sick anyway (it's not possible to predict with accuracy who's going to develop a disease and who is not) in addition to those who get sick who you would have treated anyway.

She's right. Obama is pushing an idea that he's going to extend coverage to tens of millions of people, but somehow we'll spend less in the aggregate on health care than we do now. Any sane person can recognize that as impossible.

80% of healthcare dollars are used up by the elderly. They are on the hit list.

The reason healthcare costs keep soaring is doctors keep people alive into their 80s and 90s and beyond.

well you missunderstand what I mean.

I don't mean jogging or eating apples. I mean stuff that works, like colonoscopies or going to the doctor when you have symptoms before they turn into a full blown emergency.

From ABC's Jake Tapper:

The federal deficit increased by $180 billion in July alone.

Rising to a record $1.27 trillion already, the deficit is heading towards $2 trillion by the end of the fiscal year.

The current total U.S. national debt is $11,666,485,985,008.

Your share is $37,982.

Increasingly, citizens at town hall meetings are expressing concern over the government’s ability to pay for health care reform without adding to the deficit.

But not Goatse and Brandon ... they're all "Yeeee-haw, Socialized Health Care! Spend, Baby Spend!"

Karin, I don't mean any other behavior except for going to the doctor when you have symptoms but not an emergency.

Do you know anyone who is uninsured and had to go to the hospital for a major emergency? I'll bet you that if they had any symptoms leading up to the emergency, they didn't go to the doctor for the symptoms for lack of insurance.

I hope everybody remembers this stupid jackasses little outburst and in next years election he gets his walking papers back to his gloomy castle where his moat monsters are on strike