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November 19, 2009

Progressive Warns: "If Conservatives Ran Healthcare"

Marc Comtois

Maggie Mahar of the Century Foundation warns:

If you’re a progressive like me, and you’re upset by the Stupak amendment, which bars federally subsidized insurance from covering abortions, consider this: What if we had a single-payer health-care system and someone like Jeb Bush or Sarah Palin were running the country?

Many liberals remain angry and disappointed that single-payer legislation never stood a chance in Washington. To them, a government-run health-care system seemed an obvious way to put patients ahead of profits.

But a single-payer system would have put us at the mercy of whomever happened to take control of Washington. I’m very happy to have a public plan as an option. But since I don’t know who will be in the White House in the years to come, I’m glad that government-run health care won’t be the only game in town.

She then lists all sorts of bad things that bogey man Jeb Bush or the whirling dervish Sarah Palin could do if they controlled a theoretical single-payer system. The thing is, I wonder if she feels the same about all of the other liberal "must have" social engineering programs out there? Sounds like spin to me.

Comments

It's hard to believe that years ago Maggie use to write fairly intelligent columns in Barron's.

At least she does recognize that putting the government in complete control of the medical industry is an unconstitutional nightmare.

Posted by: BobN at November 19, 2009 1:26 PM