Mark the date — July 9, 2008.
Bob Laszewski describes it eloquently in his blog posting: Senate Votes 69-30 To Rescind Medicare Physician Fee Cuts and Cut Medicare Advantage to Pay For It .
Is healthcare more like schools, fire departments, and roads or is it more like TV sets, shampoo, and movies?
I do think of myself as a strong free market advocate. But, I’ve learned about how isolated, deficient, and expensive the U.S. approach to healthcare is compared to virtually every other developed country in the world.
I interpret this vote as both sides of the aisle agreeing we’ve seen the boundaries of what free market anything goes healthcare can and can’t do. Today is the day the tide started shifting.
I think that we all agree that the government should get out of the insurence business and enter the arena of sound policy. Helath plans will compete in the market, but they will not regulate themselves. Exsesive profits and excutive salaries can only be controlled by sound policy. Neither party seems ot have any understanding of what this means.