Editorial: HELP Is on the Way

Jul 06, 2009 13:03

by Paul Krugman ( Read more... )

paul krugman, health

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syndicalist July 6 2009, 17:32:58 UTC
I am sure the mainstream media will report this CBO data with all the import and gravity they accord to stories that reflect negatively public health care.

Like when AP runs the following piece, and Yahoo! promotes it to "Top Stories" on their news site, if only in the interest of providing BOTH SIDES and to counterbalance the overwhelmingly pro-public option bias of the media:

Europe's free, state-run health care has drawbacks
By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer
Sat Jul 4, 2:28 pm ET

LONDON - As President Barack Obama pushes to overhaul the American health care system, the role of government is at the heart of the debate. In Europe, free, state-run health care is a given.

The concept has been enshrined in Europe for generations. Health systems are built so inclusive that even illegal immigrants are entitled to free treatment beyond just emergency care. Europeans have some of the world's best hospitals and have made great strides in fighting problems like obesity and heart disease.

But the system is far from perfect.

[...]
It's ( ... )

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zenlari July 6 2009, 17:39:58 UTC
Ugh, coverage like this always makes me *so* pissed off! Every one of my friends from a country with Universal Health Care is always so fuckin' appalled at our standard of care in this country. It's kinda ridiculous to cover in this way.

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syndicalist July 6 2009, 17:51:18 UTC
The story by "MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer" gets even better at the URL. She goes on about how people have "needlessly died" in many European countries, from their systems. Thankfully we do not have that problem here.

The goal of this kind of reportage seems to be to frighten the US public into preserving things the way they are.

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zenlari July 6 2009, 17:53:30 UTC
Oh internet...I figure this has got to work on the really gullible or the really elderly, or some combination thereof. And then I wonder "do these people even *use* the internet?"

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brewsternorth July 6 2009, 18:13:04 UTC
Problem is, "AP Medical Writers" get written up in newspapers, because it's easier to draw stuff from the wire services than to actually report on what's going on.

I'm worried.

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zenlari July 6 2009, 18:19:54 UTC
Ohhh, see and when they say print media is dead this is why I hafta agree with them.

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zenlari July 6 2009, 18:20:34 UTC
P.S. your XKCD icon = hilarious!

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