Jindal endorses Democrats’ health care reform bill

By GottaLaff

All of you out there who got snookered by Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby Jindal's WaPo piece, raise your hands. It was easy to do, so don't go all guilt-ridden on me.

My good pal Karoli has opened a lot of eyes by explaining that Bobby has actually lifted a few (read: most) ideas from the Dems (please read Karoli's whole post):

Bobby Jindal [...] makes a conservative case for health reform by outlining a 10-point plan that looks very much like the plan that President Obama outlined in his September speech to the joint session of Congress back in September.

Let’s compare:

1. Voluntary Purchasing Pools. Check. In the Democrats’ bill, they’re called “the Exchange”.
2. Portability. Check.
3. Lawsuit reform. No, this isn’t in the Democrats’ health care reform bills, but it is on the agenda. Let’s not forget, lawsuits (aka torts) cover a universe far wider and deeper than health claims. While it’s surely something to consider, it’s also a dense issue that would have to be coordinated with states’ rules on lawsuits. (And let’s not forget, tort reform has done little to keep health insurance costs down in states that have adopted it.)
4. Required coverage of pre-existing conditions. Check.
5. Transparency and payment reform. Check.
6. Electronic medical records. Check.
7. Tax-free health savings accounts. Nope, these aren’t part of the Democrats’ plan. Why? Because they only work for the very rich and those who don’t really care if Wall Street steals half of them while Congress turns its head during Republican administrations.
8. Reward healthy lifestyle choices. Check, though premium rebates are not the reward in the Democrats’ plan. The entire plan focuses around wellness rather than sickness.
9. Cover young adults by allowing them to remain on parents’ plan longer. Check.
10. Refundable tax credits for the uninsured to obtain insurance. Check.

8 out of Jindal’s 10 are already in the President’s plan and the variations wending their way toward a merge process. [...]

Jindal’s article makes it clear that conservatives agree with how we’re proceeding on health care reform. It looks like Democrats made a serious effort to bring conservative principles into play where they could as a proxy for the demagogues in Congress who decided stonewalling is the way to reform our health care system.

Here's the punch line. Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby ends his piece with this:

In short, ideas matter. The public is interested in solutions that will improve America's health-care system, not dismantle it. Republicans can lead on this.

Click on the button:


Ha!

Please go here to read Karoli's entire analysis. It'll be well worth it.