Liberals vs. conservativesm government vs. market reform -Health Reform Spin

As we anticipate the long hot summer health reform debate, look for these spins to sway the public.

Republicans - There is, indeed, a crisis, and it’s about how we pay for Democrats spending $100 billion, give or take $20 billion, this year and $1 to $2 trillion, over the next decade, thereby plunging your children and your grandchild ere ever moa deeply into everlasting debt. It’s about putting bureaucrats in charge handling the crisis and making your health care decisions. According to Republican pollster, Frank Lutz, the Republican message ought to be, “In countries with government-run health care, politicians make YOUR health care decisions. THEY decide if you’ll get the procedures you need or, if you’re qualified because the treatment is too expensive or you’re too old.”

Democrats - There’s a crisis, alright, and it’s that greedy medical-industrial complex that’s at fault – the health plans, drug companies, and avaricious specialists. We’ll make health care more affordable. We’ll give you more choice. We won't allow you to go bankrupt.. We’ll make sure you still get a choice, public or private, and which doctor, based on performance and effectiveness data, is best for YOU. According to Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana),” You can choose your own doctor. You can choose your own health plans. There’s total choice here. I do not want to say this defensively, but this is not a big government plan.”

Meanwhile, Congress must decide how to pay for government’s big government plan this year and over the next decade. The central questions that should be addressed are: should it come to pass: Where is the money to fund it coming from? Where are the doctors coming from to deliver the promise of expanded access?