Summary of ObamaCare "Bzzzzt" Arguments

Too bad that Greg Scandlen had to assemble all this to show that a Republican is wrong on the issue...but it's a handy item to have.

I don’t know Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA). Don’t know a thing about him. But if an article about his recent town hall meeting on health care is accurate, and if he is representative of other Congressional Republicans, it looks like they haven’t learned a damned thing over the past year of frenzied debate.

...“Murphy explained that of the over $2.3 trillion spent on healthcare in America each year, about $800 billion is wasted or misused.” This is a line right from Peter Orszag, President Obama’s head of OMB. It is the underlying premise of what the Administration is trying to do on health care – eliminate all that “waste” and thereby balance the federal budget, improve care, and pay for universal health care all at the same time. Sounds swell. Only problem is there is virtually no support for it.

(IIRC, that was the San Antonio study...)

...Mr. Murphy is also quoted in the article as saying, “Disease management is the thing we need to be doing.” This, in spite of the evidence from thirty-five Medicare demonstration programs that disease management does not save money, and may not improve health. It is another panacea that is unsupported by any evidence.

(Evidence? We don't NEED no steeeenkin' evidence!!)

Mr. Murphy forgets to mention malpractice reform as an issue he could support until he is pressed on it by a questioner. And he completely ignores the essential problem in American health care – the excessive reliance on third-party payment. In fact, he says not a word about Health Savings Accounts or consumer empowerment in the health care system.

Some Republicans insist on being in "The Stupid Party."