Health Care "Reform" (sigh)

With the near certainty of this health care bill being signed into law, our politicians continue to say one thing and do another.  Do we need health care reform? - without a doubt, but this plan does nothing to reform the major problems. 

The main talking point the proponents have used is that it helps reduce the deficit by some fairly large number over the next ten years (BTW take note that they always say the next 10 years, never longer), and it does do this.  But do you know why?  Because for the first 4 years they payout nothing.  All they do is collect in new taxes to "fund" the program.  Then after the first 4 years they finally start to enact the program.  Now I ask you, if you were given a business where you had absolutely no expenses (aka claims) for 4 years but you had tons of revenue (aka taxes), could you make a profit (aka have a surplus)?  Of course.  However, if you look at any numbers over the following ten years, the true cost of this program adds tremendously to our already ever bludgeoning debt.

So what are some of the major problems of our current health care system that have led to skyrocketing costs and premiums for Americans?

1)  Medicare/medicaid:  Currently the government forces doctors/hospitals to accept below market rates for medicare patients because the program is essentially broke.  The government cannot afford to pay market rate because the fund is empty.  So what do these entities then do?  Obviously they pass the costs on to everyone else.  As baby boomers get older and more people enter the poverty zone, medicare/medicaid has grown tremendously.  This means everyone else has had to pick up a larger and larger portion of the health care costs that medicare/medicaid do not pay for.  This leads to higher and higher premiums.  Why does the government get to negotiate (force) a better price for itself than the average health plan can get for its clients.  Does this health care bill address this?  NO

2) Tort Reform:  Americans sue over everything.  EVERYTHING.  We are the leading country in lawsuits by an unimaginable percentage, and the lawsuits get larger and more ridiculous every year.  It is called practicing medicine for a reason.  Mistakes happen, side effects happen.  There is no other country I'd trust my life to doctors than America, but sometimes shit happens.  Now if a doctor amputates the wrong arm, I can understand suing him, but if someone you loves dies in an operation where there is an 80% chance of survival, then pray that he/she has gone to a better place. Don't blame the doctor/hospital.  What this has led to are doctors prescribing all sorts of tests to cover there asses when a patient comes in for a fairly routine issue.  Also E&O (errors and omission- aka lawsuit protection) insurance has skyrocketed.  Both of these items have led to ever increasing insurance costs also.  Does this health care bill address this? NO

3) Drug costs:  Right now drug companies charge Americans far more for drugs here than in any other country.  Why is this the case?  Oh yeah, because the lobbyists for drug companies have gotten our politicians to set extremely tough standards for generic drugs.  Drug patents last for a long time and often get extended for a variety of reasons.  Go to Canada, Europe, Asis and you can get the same drugs there for pennies on the dollar than it costs Americans here (even though a vast majority of the drugs get created here).  Drug companies can't charge ridiculous prices overseas because generics would crush them, so they sell them at tiny margins there, and jack them up here.  Essentially Americans are fitting the bill for the rest of the world.  So why don't Americans just buy the drugs overseas and ship them here in bulk to keep down costs?  Oh yeah (another law passed by our politicians looking out for us) it is illegal and we'd get fined or face jail time.  Does this health care bill address this?  NO

So do I want health care reform?  Desparately, but not this health care reform.  It just does not address the issues that are causing the problems.  Address the above issues, and then we can talk.  Until then, costs will keep rising.  This bill is essentially just another tax that gives our government some extra revenue to fund their spending habits under the guise of health care reform.

Best Day 1 Ever?

I'm not sure if this was the best day 1 of the NCAA tournament ever, but it definitely has to rank right up there. 

First group of games - incredible:

Old Dominion won a squeaker over Notre Dame by 1.  This game was back and forth most of the way, and Notre Dame had a 3 pointer go in and out as time basically ran out. 

BYU (this year's Davidson?) then won a double overtime thriller over Florida as the world was introduced to BYU point guard Jimmer Fredette and his 37 points.  This kid has it all including an uncanny ability to get to the rim.  I will be rooting for these guys for as long as they can go no matter who they face.

Lastly, Villanova stole a victory from a game Robert Morris team in overtime.  Robert Morris led almost the entire regulation before 'Nova sent the game into overtime.  This victory saved a little face for the Big East in what was easily the most embarrsing day in a long time for the conference.  Yet Villanova had no right to win it.  They were outhustled big time, but the disappointing end didn't take too much away from this exciting game.

The second group of games were overall not as great, but had the most exciting buzzer beater of the day. 

Kansas St handled their business efficiently, and Butler, St. Mary's, and Baylor all had close halftime games before late runs gave them victories.  However...........how about Murray St?!?!  Danero Thomas hit a 15 footer at the buzzer to send the 13 seed into the second round after Vanderbilt had done the same at the other end with 13 seconds left. 

Third group - awesome:

Kentucky's massive blow out was the only dud, unless you count 14th seeded Ohio's pounding of Georgetown?????  What happened here?  The mighty Hoyas must have thought this was the preseason, and ironically their next game will be.  There is nothing better than watching a highly rated team from the "#1 conference" just get it handed to them by a 9th place finisher from a mid major. 

Northern Iowa won another great game on a 3 pointer by Ali Farokhmanesh (don't ask me to pronounce that one) from well beyond the arc with 5 seconds remaining to break a tie ballgame.  Northern Iowa came into the game with the number 1 defense in the land, and their gritty effortshowed why.  I love watching lesser athletic teams play with great fundamentals to win.  This is UNI in a nutshell.  This is another team I will definitely be watching in the next round to see how they can handle the Jayhawks.

Finally, Marquette ended a putrid day for the Big East by blowing a 15 point 2nd half  lead over Washington to lose by 2 in another close exciting game.  Washington scored on last second shot breaking a tie ballgame and leaving Marquette standing on the wall on a shot by Pondexter.

So the final set of games surely would be a letdown, right?  Uh, not exactly.

Sure KU pounded Lehigh, but only after Lehigh hung tough for just over a half.  However, the other three games were a continuation of the rest of the day.

Tennessee hung on against San Diego St.  SD St. had a chance to tie it at the buzzer with a three, but unfortunately it didn't go down for basketball fans. 

Then in a game that rivaled the Murray St. game, Wake Forest beat Texas by 1 in overtime on a shot with 2 seconds left.  This after Texas missed multiple free throws that could have iced the game including 2 misses with 10 seconds left. 

In the last game of the night, 14th seeded Montana led at half before falling behind by 14 points in the second half against New Mexico.  Then they stormed back to get within 1 before finally succumbing by 5.
 
So in summary:

3 overtime games which eclipsed the total for the entire tourney last year
4 games decided by shots in the last 5 seconds
5 double digit seeds winning (the most on day 1 since 1991)
7 games decided by 3 pts or less

Day 2 anyone?