In today's Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer takes great pains to paint a bleak picture of health care reform as "monstrous," "overregulated," and rife with "arbitrary bureaucratic inventions." The columnist's argument may be cogent and well-written, but it is wholly inaccurate.
Krauthammer describes a "better choice" for health reform as having three elements: tort reform, interstate purchasing and taxing employee benefits. All three elements are part of the current effort.
And while Mr. Krauthammer may try to label reform legislation as a package of programs linked only by "political expediency," the legislation actually is designed to take health care off the unsustainable path it is currently on by improving the health of all Americans and reducing costs for families, small businesses and the government. Some examples from the Senate bill: