During the debate over Obamacare Ezra Klein was a huge proponent of  health insurance exchanges using only private insurance companies. He called the exchanges the number one cost control idea in the new law. From Klein March 22, 2010 in his list of “five most promising cost controls in the health-care bill”: (1) Create a [...]

I’ve often find Ezra Klein’s writing about health care policy confusing because from blog post to blog post there is often a jarring disconnect that can best be described at policy schizophrenia. The issue is most pronounced in his alternating from defender of health insurance exchanges, mostly when defending Obama, and his acknowledging they have been a proven failure, mostly when criticizing Republicans.

Almost any national health care debate in this country is almost entirely disconnected from real-world examples, which is tragic given that facts have a well-known liberal bias. That is why it is incredibly depressing to see a senior fellow from the Center for American Progress is using his platform to spread incoherent ignorance. I don’t [...]

It is always nice to see more people come around to my stated belief that health insurance exchanges intended to make people be “smart shoppers” for very complex products is a truly failed idea. Paul Krugman made a very straightforward case against the concept this weekend: That’s the title of a blog post by Nathalie [...]

I’m glad to see that Paul Krugman has attacked the absurd idea that health care patients should be treated as consumers, and Jonathan Cohn has chosen to echo Krugman’s argument.  What I can’t understand is where was powerful denouncing of the absurd idea that we need more “consumer-driven” health care during the debate over the [...]

Rep. Paul Ryan has released his 2012 budget proposal (PDF), and in it, he has endorsed the truly terrible idea of eliminating Medicare and replacing it with a voucher to buy more costly private insurance on an exchange. Future Medicare recipients will be able to choose from a list of guaranteed coverage options, and they [...]

Jon Stewart got the ball rolling, and now even Shepard Smith is so disgusted by GOP obstructionism on the 9/11 health care bill that he read a list of the names of Republican senators who would not appear on Fox News to speak on the issue.  DeMint, McConnell, Graham, Hatch, McCain… nobody wants to appear [...]

Yesterday was actually big victory for progressivism. Not in health care, but in student loan reform. Finally, a wasteful and worthless corporate welfare program was eliminated. The taxpayer dollars that were being thrown away on private profits will now be redirected to help low income students attend college and pay down the debt. This is [...]

Senate Republicans have decided to attack the health care bill by offering a tactical motion to recommit. This motion, as offered by John McCain, would send the bill back to the Senate Finance Committee to have it rewritten without any “cuts” to Medicare Advantage. Democrats are defending the existing bill by explaining how this Medicare [...]

We are now entering day three of the Senate debate on health care reform. So far, only one amendment has been offered by the Democrats. It is an amendment from Barbara Mikulski meant to reduce cost sharing for some preventive screening for women. Republican John McCain offered a motion to recommit. It would have sent [...]