Sunday, March 16, 2008

Essential Reading: The Health Care Debate on One Page

The March issue of Money Magazine introduced a new column called "The Bottom Line" by Pat Regnier. If the first installment, "The health-care debate you ought to to hear" is any indication, this is a keeper.

It breaks the Republican and Democratic views on health down into easily understood concepts. Granted anything that tries to make a complex issue simple should be viewed with skepticism. However, anything that helps people understand a complex issue should be welcomed.

Here is one excerpt:

Am I going to have choices?

R: All the choice a free market can give you. We don't want lots of rules telling you or an insurer what a plan should cover or cost. Of course, if you have less income, you'll have fewer choices. And if you have health problems, you may find that your money isn't green enough to buy a policy without government help.

D: If we win, you'll choose among plans with lots of coverage maybe more than you actually want. We may even make you buy insurance. We can't afford to have young, healthy people opting out of the system or buying bare-bones plans. We need them subsidizing the sick for our ideas to work.

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