Without a Magazine, We Wouldn’t Have Healthcare Reform?

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There’s much hubbub of late about how—or if—Congress will transform healthcare. The one reason even cynical me thinks things actually will change (slowly, incrementally) is that the situation is finally hitting us where it hurts: our wallets. Everyone agrees that healthcare spending is mismanaged and out of control. And apparently, we really did need that awesome New Yorker article to set us straight.

The Obama administration has made the story required reading. The piece reveals how unsensibly out of control the healthcare costs were in one Texas border town—and by extensive, it reveals how wasteful and ineffective programs are around the country. The biggest point is that spending more does NOT result in even slightly better treatment for patients. The story nailed it, but am I the only one dismayed that it took the reporting of one doctor-journalist to wake some folks up? Perhaps just as disturbing is the fact that we may not be reading such in-depth investigative journalism much longer, if the publishing industry continues its downward spiral.

In any event, I think most people will come around to embrace universal healthcare not because it’s the right thing to do ethically, but the right thing to do economically. And hey, whatever brings the Cheapskate’s premiums down works for me. My fingers are crossed, though my hopes are subdued. For months and perhaps years to come, all I really expect is mucho debate and grandstanding—the classic political showdown, as USA Today and CNN are covering it. There’s no shortage of meddling healthcare dilemmas to solve, too.