I read the following today in the New York Times medicine section: "Republicans recalled, however, that they secured approval of two huge changes in domestic social policy that worked much better than Democrats had predicted. They remade welfare programs in 1996 and added a prescription drug benefit to Medicare in 2003. 'The idea that Republicans are just not interested in health care and won't do anything is belied by history', said Stuart M. Butler, director of the Center for Policy Innovation at the conservative Heritage Foundation." My interest lies in the second observation, that adding the prescription drug benefit to Medicare in 2003 demonstrates Republican in health care.

If you recall the phrase "donut hole," you understand why I question the facts behind Mr. Butler's superficially true statement. Here's how Reason magazine wrote about it at the time: "The cost is also likely to rise because of demands to close the drug plan's weird gap in coverage: After a $250 deductible, it will pay 75 percent of prescription drug expenses, up to $2,250 a year; but between $2,250 and $5,100, the point at which the plan starts paying 95 percent of costs, there will be no coverage at all." When one runs the numbers, one realizes that (a) Medicare enrollees are reimbursed up to $2,250 per year and (b) at that point, Medicare enrollees reimburse insurance companies for the same amount, up to $5,100. How did this come about?

As you might guess, the insurance industry had a lot to do with it. In fact, it was an insurance industry lobbyist who wrote the bill! Only in America.

What everyone forgets but should remember: The bulk of the new health insurance law won't kick in until 2014. No one knows how all those changes will affect care, cost, universality, etc. Of course, that hasn't stopped those who throw slings and arrows about ObamaCare, death panels, and other points on the right-hand side of the Sane<------>Lunacy scale from turning the dark sides of their imaginations loose:

• It will bankrupt the country
• It's a socialist plot
• "I don't want no gummint messin' with my healthcare!" (often heard from those ignorocrats who don't know that Medicare, Medicaid, etc. are government-run programs)

It will be a long time before the populace and those elected to govern them acknowledge that the real solutions--universal, cradle-to-grave, single payer--will take the concerns about who get what and how much and at what cost off the table. Then, we can focus on more important problems:

• Food
• Water
• Education
• Industry & jobs
• Security

Let me know your thoughts.