Today, the Senate, in a 68-31 vote confirmed the appointment of Associate Justice to the Supreme Court Sonya Sotomayor. Senator Reid voted in the affirmative, and Senator Ensign as expected toed the GOP line and voted against her confirmation.
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Respectfully disagree.
The “end points” of this reform, as I see them, are:
1. Eliminate or greatly reduce the number of uninsured
2. Increase people’s job mobility by breaking the link between insurance and employment
I would say that both are worthy goals.
I would also point out, that health cost reduction, while often mentioned as one of the goals of this reform, is indeed hard to find anywhere in the proposed measures. However, “systemic problems” you listed play only a secondary role in raising that cost. The primary reason our healthcare is twice more expensive than in other developed countries is simply the quantity of medical procedures and medical equipment used in the US, which is way beyond the point of diminishing return. There is some hope that increased competition for individual policy holders might nudge the industry toward more cost-effective plans, but this will be a very gentle nudge.
Finally, on public option: I’m not aware of any example, where the government was able to successfully compete against private business on a level playing field. At best, the public option will become another loss-making monster like USPS or Amtrak. At worst, the government will start squeezing out private competition in the name of the greater good.