[Dan40]

Today the Congressional Budget Office, says that the present partial health care proposal will cost in excess of a TRILLION dollars over the next 10 years and will only insure 16 million people more than are presently insured. Leaving the bulk of today's uninsured, unCHANGED.
Why must EVERY OBAMA administration proposal, plan, idea, goal be an unfinished 'work in progress?' NOTHING they have planned AND/or PASSED so far has had a clear path to a definite result, nor has its FUNDING been settled in advance. Not a single thing. WHY?

My wife [now retired except for limited consulting] has a Masters in Health Care Finance and has been a CFO in different hospitals and with different hospital corporations.
The PLIGHT of the poor, uninsured is fairly simple today. They go to the ER, they ARE treated, and treated throughly for their problem. Technically the hospital is supposed to refer them to an MD for a non-emergency. But when a hospital tries to do that, the poor, BUT KNOWLEDGEABLE, simply say, "I have a little chest pain too! Now the hospital MUST preform a full Cardiac workup, AND they will treat the original complaint anyway. So better to not try to turn them away for minor problems.
When it is all over, the hospital writes it all off, knowing they will never collect a cent. If the patient is poor enough, the hospital bills Medicaid.
Medicare, is a health plan for qualified people over 65. Medicaid is a limited welfare plan for poor people. Many interchange the 2 terms but they sound similar but are vastly different programs.

The problem facing the poor today?? IT damages their DIGNITY that they must go to the ER for their care. The care is fine, its their DIGNITY that we must spend a few TRILLION dollars to fix.