Health care loophole would allow coverage limits

[Eric Johnson]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091211/ap_on_go_co/us_health_overhaul_senate_loophole

http://tinyurl.com/ybsue59

WASHINGTON – A loophole in the Senate health care bill would let insurers place annual dollar limits on medical care for people struggling with costly illnesses such as cancer, prompting a rebuke from patient advocates.

The legislation that originally passed the Senate health committee last summer would have banned such limits, but a tweak to that provision weakened it in the bill now moving toward a Senate vote.

-more-

[Gerry Clinchy]

The lawmakers have made such a botch of this whole thing, they should start over!

The attempt to rush through this legislation has made for this hodge-podge of confusing, contradictory amendments.

Why the rush? The obvious answer, it would appear, is that it is traditional for a new administration to enjoy a honeymoon with the voters and media ... as the new administrations agenda and errors become more evident, despite campaign promises, the voters begin to realize that it's just more of the same old, same old.

[Eric Johnson]

In all candor, I don't know if that story is true simply because I've not read the bill yet. So far as I know, no one has read it outside of a select circle of Democrat senators. That's really wrong.

The polls are showing a significant majority of Americans have turned away from the present course in health care reform yet the Senate plows ahead with their plan(s).

Eric