Well, once again, we the people have lost.

[progressivebydesign]

64. As a taxpayer and health care consumer, it's a victory for me.

We're paying billions and billions for the uninsured. We end up paying 300k for a hospital procedure for an uninsured person now, that could have been avoided with a basic physical, but they had to wait until they were sick enough to get admitted in ER.

This is a victory for taxpayers and the rest of us who pay higher rates for everything to cover the people that don't buy insurance. Giveaway??? Hardly. The system of no insurance available, so using the ER for primary care, is a giveaway of taxpayer and the insured's money.

The provisions of this program is going to create affordable options for people so that we don't have this ridiculous system of the ER as primary care, and the rest of us paying for them.

Here, I'll make it easy for all of you hand-wringers: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/insurance/2009-05-28-hiddentax_N.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-05-09-uninsured-unpaid-hospital-bills_n.htm