Light at the End of the Tunnel?

It has been said: “The light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight on the train about to run you over”. That American people might want to remember this whenever they hear President Obama’s statement “There is a light at the end of the tunnel” in a speech. Democrats continue to consider the use of reconciliation (simple majority in the senate) as the only way to get Health Care Reform passed, and even that will require the defection of at least one Republican. High on the list of potential defectors is that previous turncoat - Olympia Snowe. Mainers have little to lose in this - and as misery loves company may actually support her defection. Maine delved into its own health care experiment, attempting to expand health coverage aggressively, before Massachusetts passed its landmark coverage law in 2006. According to the Boston Globe the Massachusetts plan has more than doubled the cost to the state, while at the same time increasing costs to insured, get this “has not achieved universal Health Care”. In Maine the insurance marketplace has little private competition and premiums remain sky-high. Maine’s population is small, old, poor, and largely rural, and though the state has enacted strict rules preventing insurers from discriminating against sick people, it has not required individuals to buy insurance. A standard PPO plan for a family of four, with low deductibles, costs more than $20,000 a year. Get ready for the train to come rolling into the station, over your outcry and with a HUGE PRICE!