Health care. It's a big debate lately. I can't speak for anyone but I think a lot of the anxiety comes in with the cost. Spending money we don't have. To illustrate the point: I don't think there would be much of an issue if we could wave a magic wand and have a Medicare type plan that covered 100% of the US population for free - $0.oo. BUT, The current Senate plan will cost $848 BILLION over 10 years (or $84 BILLION each year). That's a lot of ice packs and gauze pads. At least, I thought that was a lot until I read **this** article on CNN.com the other day. It basically says that last year alone there was $98 BILLION in improper or fraudulent payments made by the US government for health care costs. Ok, so, I'm not a mathologist but wouldn't cutting out the waste, fraud, and abuse in the current system basically pay for every one's health care? We wouldn't even have to cut out all the fraud, just about 85% of it would cover the bill. Wouldn't it be worthwhile/cost-effective to have about 1% of the bailout money go to hiring people who police this type of thing? How about moving some IRS agents to Medicare fraud enforcement? Those bastards will destroy your grandmother for a $20 capital gains tax. For those of you still hanging in there, here's a hot nurse. Stay healthy.
