Baucus' cheaper Trojan horse

A cheaper Trojan horse is the "health-care deform" bill unveiled last Wednesday by Sen. Max Baucus. It makes the same promises that are made by the president and H.R. 3200, but with different body parts.

Before I explain why this is the case, I want to remind the liberals again that there is a Republican alternative (H.R. 3400) which will achieve everything the Democrats' plan (H.R. 3200) will not, namely, to rein in costs, cover everybody and improve the health-care system.

But with the help of the mainstream media, the Democrats have ignored the Republican alternative because "they won" last November as they remind us, which is why H.R. 3400 has been sent to eight committees and will remain there, until Speaker Pelosi gives the order to release it. I will not hold my breath.

Democrat-care (H.R. 3200) will not deliver what the Democrats claim, even with a moving price tag of between $856 billion to $1.5 trillion. And the latest Senate panel version released by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., falls equally short.

Although it does not contain the hotly contested "public option," it does contain major provisions of the House version, such as:

Mandates on individuals to have health insurance

No mandate on employers, but employers will be assessed a fee (it's a tax!)

Fees levied on health-care companies and insurers

Mandates on insurance companies regarding coverage for all

As usual, the government mandates and fees will ultimately be borne by consumers and taxpayers through more new government bureaucracies. The Senate panel plan, however, does specifically prohibit the use of federal funds for abortions, and specifies illegal immigrants will not be covered.

The latter two provisions were intended to appease Republicans, but no Republicans on the panel took the bait. The full Senate Finance Committee will have to vote on the bill before going to the floor of the Senate for "debate."

Even after a round of TV talk shows last weekend by President Obama, more and more people are simply not buying either of the Trojan horses, because more and more people are discovering the trap doors in the bills.

More people are hearing the experiences of patients in other countries, and the experiences of people like Dr. Michael Hogan, an orthopedic surgeon who was born in England, attended medical school and practiced medicine in Canada, and now practices medicine here in the United States in Georgia.

When I asked Dr. Hogan on my radio show last week if he believed the bills being proposed by the Democrats would lead to health-care rationing, he responded without hesitation "absolutely." He went on to say that whenever government controls the purse strings it takes away choices, reduces productivity and creates waiting lists for medical services.

Even worse, some people simply die while they are waiting for medical care.

The president and the Democrats would call that a scare tactic. Dr. Hogan, patients and doctors call it reality in government-run health-care systems.

The millions of voices that the administration and the Democrats in Congress are trying to ignore at town hall meetings and tea parties are asking the Democrats to do a reality check.

We the People have done a reality check, and we have figured out that a cheaper Trojan horse is still a Trojan horse.