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Tuesday, June 09, 2009

The Best Health Care System The World Has Ever Known

From the Washington Monthly, this article quotes Senator Richard Shelby's (R-Ala) June 7th comments about the current healthcare reform efforts:
One, we don't know how much [a reform package is] going to cost and who's going to pay for it," he said. "Secondly, it will be the first steps in destroying the best health care system the world has ever known."
The best health care system the world has ever known?

Do you suppose he is referring to:

• the one with 18 percent of the population under age 65 being uninsured?
• the one that spends more in healthcare than any other country in the world ($2.4 trillion in 2007)?
• the one that is only ranked 37th among industrialized nations by the World Health Organization for health care quality and performance?
• the one where 61% of bankruptcies are due to high medical bills?
• the one that wastes $31 billion a year just so doctors can get paid by insurance companies?
• the one that contributed to the collapse of the American auto industry ($1500 per car gap between GM vs Japanese vehicles)?

Oh, okay. I get it. Just like Gigli is the "best" movie the world has ever known. And like the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers were the "best" NBA team the world has ever known.

He's just kidding, right? Right?

Because if he's not, then Senator Shelby is the "best" Senator the world has ever known, where "best" actually means "worst". Just like our healthcare system.