Sen. Max Baucus’s America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 has received a tepid reception from Democrats and Republicans alike. That’s precisely because Sen. Baucus’s bill embodies compromise, mutual conciliation, and moderation. While pragmatism and expediency are laudable goals, they are apt to produce uninspiring results, and that’s what we’ve gotten in the Healthy Future Act.
Because “prevention accounts for only two to three percent of health care expenditures,” we could achieve significant savings in future health care costs by devoting more money to preventive measures. Unfortunately, this argument is flawed.
As if just talking about dying weren’t hard enough for most of us, now comes the disinformation campaign about end-of-life care discussions waged by opponents of health care reform.
