The House bill

The House released their health care bill, and while it isn't the liberal bonanza of socialist and thinly veiled communism that Nancy Pelosi vowed to throw on the backs of this country in order to destroy it, it's still fairly good and allows us to further persist in the myth that this country will get a public option.

Pelosi said the bill will "insure 36 million more Americans" and "will not add one dime to the deficit" -- covering 96 percent of Americans and costing less than $900 billion. The bill includes a public option and will end "discrimination for preexisting medical conditions."

She said the plan will be put online "for all Americans to see." You can read it here.

In fact the bill will cost "$894 billion price tag and will result in a $30 billion surplus at the end of its first 10 years" and doesn't include the "robust public option" (rates based on Medicare + 5%) but will instead negotiate rates. In addition the bill will expand Medicaid to the rate of 150% above the poverty line and ditch the Senate's free rider provision in favor of an employer mandate. It essentially covers more people and in a better way than the Senate for almost the same price.

What's also great about the bill is....ah fuck it. It's not like any of this stuff is going to get in. Some idiot Senator or Senators will demand that they be taken out or they'll just be stripped out in the conference committee and we'll all be forced to accept whatever contradictory nonsensical terrible bullshit Joe Lieberman wants in return for getting his feelings hurt in the 2006 Connecticut Democratic primary.

Still, nicely done House. There's still one mildly sane, not completely terrible section of our government that largely seems to be actually concerned with the problems inherent in our health care system. Too bad you're counterbalanced by the Senate. I guess a couple people will read the bill and imagine what it would be like if it got passed, so your efforts won't be a total waste. Shame about the Senate though. Well, you must be used to that kind of disappointment.