Despite court decision, cruelty and ruthlessness in health care debate won't go away

[VV note: What's rarely stated in the rancorous debate over the misnamed "Obamacare" is that the U.S. provides, in fact, universal health care coverage, albeit for too many Americans it's very minimal. In other words, no one is directly denied medical treatment on the basis of ability to pay. If you are injured or sick, hospitals, by law, must treat you — although too often that care is inadequate.

The true question in the "Obamacare" debate is: Who is going to pay? All other advanced countries — even some third world countries — provide for a formal system of universal coverage, be it through the government or through large insurance companies according to strict guidelines set down by the government.

There are many reasons why "Obamacare" isn't perfect, mostly because it was a bill that was cobbled together in such a way as to appease many large, competing interests. Hopefully, as the law takes effect, its implementation will create more efficiencies in the system.

The bottom line is this: All the screaming and yelling and gnashing of teeth over "Obamacare" comes primarily from those who exalt political belief over practical solutions and the well-being of the 40 million or so Americans who do not have adequate health insurance. If these naysayers have a better solution as to how, as a country, we are going to provide good, efficient health care coverage for all at a reasonable cost, I'd like to hear it. — LP]


The Real Winners

By PAUL KRUGMAN, NYT

So the Supreme Court — defying many expectations — upheld the Affordable Care Act, a k a Obamacare. There will, no doubt, be many headlines declaring this a big victory for President Obama, which it is. But the real winners are ordinary Americans — people like you.

How many people are we talking about? You might say 30 million, the number of additional people the Congressional Budget Office says will have health insurance thanks to Obamacare. But that vastly understates the true number of winners because millions of other Americans — including many who oppose the act — would have been at risk of being one of those 30 million.

So add in every American who currently works for a company that offers good health insurance but is at risk of losing that job (and who isn’t in this world of outsourcing and private equity buyouts?); every American who would have found health insurance unaffordable but will now receive crucial financial help; every American with a pre-existing condition who would have been flatly denied coverage in many states.

In short, unless you belong to that tiny class of wealthy Americans who are insulated and isolated from the realities of most people’s lives, the winners from that Supreme Court decision are your friends, your relatives, the people you work with — and, very likely, you. For almost all of us stand to benefit from making America a kinder and more decent society.

(More here.)