Say what you will about Minnesota, what with electing Al Franken
and all as their Senator, but at least their Governor has some
sense.
Tim Pawlenty's been crisscrossing the country for weeks now
talking politics and ideas. He's especially vocal about
healthcare and critical of Obama's plan. In
this op-ed in yesterday's WaPo, he sounds like a true-blue
conservative and says Obama should look at how some state's
handle health care to see how the country's plan should follow
suit.
In Minnesota, our state employee health-care plan has
demonstrated incredible results by linking outcomes to value.
State employees in Minnesota can choose any clinic available to
them in the health-care network they've selected. However,
individuals who use more costly and less-efficient clinics are
required to pay more out-of-pocket.
By contrast, he sums up Massachusetts's plan:
While the Massachusetts plan has reduced the number of
uninsured people, costs have been dramatically higher than
expected. The result? Increased taxes and fees. The Boston
Globe has reported on a current short-term funding gap and the
need to obtain a new federal bailout.
Imagine the scope of tax increases, or additional deficit
spending, if that approach is utilized for the entire country.
How can Obama refute such a difference? If he could, his plan
could work, but as it stands he can't; his plan is bound to
mirror the mess of Massachusetts.
Either way conservatives read that and say, well, duh.
Obama and cronies on the other hand, read that and say, well
darn, I'm sure our plan will work out better for the
country than it did for Massachusetts.
