But... But... What About PROCEDURE?!?!?

Did you know that Megan blogs on senate procedural matters? Neither did I!

Jonathan Zasloff's defense of using budget reconciliation for health care?

First, Ezra's assertion that the reconciliation rules ban health care reform is at best unproven and contrary to the plain language of the law. Those rules bar putting things in a reconciliation bill that have only an "incidental" effect on the budget. But, say, prohibiting discrimination against pre-existing conditions would have more than an incidental effect. Such a move, for example, could save billions from Medicaid, because it would allow people to get insurance in the private market who might otherwise have to go to Medicaid.

Hey, Megan, what's reconciliation? 'Cause you might wanna provide a little bit of background on topics you've NEVER FUCKING MENTIONED BEFORE. Oh, wait, but I wrote that with the false premise that Megan wants anyone to understand her rather than hear just herself talk. My bad.

As far as I know, Medicaid eligibility is generally restricted to those who are pretty low income[sic]. And[sic] the waiver-program[sic] premia[sic] (Intellectual fail.) are usually lower than any private entity would charge, even in Europe (Which is not a country.). With community rating (WTF is community rating? Oh, there I go again!), the prices of private insurance[sic] will go up even further. What the heck is Zasloff talking about (NOT the price of private insurance)? How many people does he really think are quiting[sic] their jobs and deliberately impoverishing themselves in order to qualify for Medicaid, rather than earning an income which can support the $350 or so per person that gets charged for an HMO in a community-rated[sic] state like New York (Which is also not a country.) with generous mandatory benefits (Not sure if this deserves a sic, but fuck, I thought I wrote sentences that had too many long clauses)? I'm sure that there are enough for an enterprising New York Times reporter to write a trend piece, but enough to make a noticeable dent in the budget? The best ways to get Medicaid are to go on welfare, or disability. Both of which imply insufficient income to buy insurance. Or substantial fraud. (Welfare and disability imply substantial fraud?)

Italics mine, of course.

Megan doesn't seem to realize that there are, in fact, disabled people with money who simply cannot get insured because of their preexisting disability. What a shock, her failing to realize that some people's problems aren't their own fault. She also mocks the idea of impoverishing oneself to get into Medicaid, which is something many people do when they learn they are terminally ill.

My favorite bit of cognitive dissonance, though, is buried in the middle. Notice how she says that community rating raises prices and then subsequently says that its existence in NY is what allows people to get insurance when they might not be otherwise able. Implicit in how SHE chooses to frame the problem is the worry of what the cost is to the comfortable and NOT what the worry of the cost to the struggling person with the preexisting condition.

Oh, and did I miss any "sic"'s?