Howard Dean, M.D. That is what his campaign loves to play up, the fact that Howard Dean is a doctor. And it's obvious why. A doctor should know what to do about healthcare when problems arise.
Dean even goes so far as to tout his record as Governor at controlling out of pocket costs and keeping people insured. According to his campaign, he cites 96% of children have health insurance, and 90% of the total population have health coverage. The dirty lie is that it wasn't really a problem when he took over.
When Dr. Dean took over as Governor the number of uninsured was about 9.5%, and about 9.6% when he left office, but due to massive regulation that number nearly doubled during his term. Due to the legislature's passage of guaranteed issue and cost ratings on rates due to age and not health status, premiums rose and health insurers left the state in record numbers.
To combat the problem he initiated massive price controls on insurance companies, set control on budgets of hospitals, and form a massive new government agency to do it all.
Again, it had the reverse effect, costs rose, profit margins fell, and insurance companies lost money had over fist, prompting more and more companies to flee the state.
His idea was simple, expand Medicaid, the medical assistance company for the poor. (Whereas Medicare is medical care for the elderly). To do this all he took bags full of money from the federal government. He doubled the rolls of Medicaid to about 20% of the population. This did indeed bring down the number of uninsured to the exact numbers that existed before any government regulation. But instead of free market prices, high costs lead to the programs costing more than if they were freely available though a free enterprise market.
Furthermore, the whole mess was paid for partly with huge tax increases, but mostly through federal subsidies. This in effect lead to non Vermont residences paying the bill for the healthcare of Vermonters.
He has the same plans for The United States if he is elected. Though he won't have a larger cash stream (the Federal Government) to pay for his ideas. He will be the Federal Government.
Though this may indeed increase the number of those who have insurance, it will far be outweighed by the huge tax increases and regulation that will be needed.
It will also serve to make the healthcare industry less profitable leading to less innovation, research, and fewer jobs.
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Article comments
1 - Tom Johnson
Is this whole post really supposed to be a link?
2 - Eric Olsen
Two things: the actual quote is "Lily Jean is a jelly bean" (my daughter), and is it true that Dean is a proctologist?
3 - Eric Olsen
I have just been informed he is a butt dentist
4 - mike
Although my favorite will be Andrew ("I took the payoff") Card's trail for greasing the wheels of the new state capitalism. Oh, dawn it will be to be alive!
5 - JR
The dirty lie is that it wasn't really a problem when he took over.
Oh, so omitting a fact is a lie? 'Cause I seem to recall there has been some recent debate over exactly what constitutes a "lie".
6 - Tom
Stay on topic, by switching topics you prove you have no intellectual rebuttal.
7 - Mark Saleski
when a liberal leaves something out or changes something in a slight way, even if the change was a mistake...it is pointed out as a "lie".
if a conservative does this and it is pointed out....well, that's just "america hating"...how dare you point that stuff out!
;-)
8 - Tom
First off, there is no proof that it was ommitted, or even knew about. If the facts change after you say something, you can't be responsible for it if it was true at the time.
Also, this is a guy who is using his "record" as governor to get elected.
And Bush was nailed on the "lie". I hear very little in the mainstream press about this story.
9 - JR
And Bush was nailed on the "lie". I hear very little in the mainstream press about this story.
There you have a point, assuming there's something to this. I imagine the story will come out eventually.
10 - Steve Rhodes
And here I thought it was Ronald Reagan who was into jelly beans.
The problem was Dean compromised and didn't go with single payer. The idea is to not have to worry about insurance company profit margins.
11 - Jim Carruthers
Oh, insurance companies had their profits threatened! The in-corporate-inanity! Think of the stock-price! Won't anybody think of the off-shore tax-shelters!
Really this tsuris about Howard Dean is just more bullshit from the republican mafia.
12 - Tom
As an apparant Canadian, I don't expect you to understand free market economics.
For chrissakes, people complain when there are not enough jobs, but you promote an agenda which would threaten profits and therefore jobs.
Socialist scumbags
13 - Mark Saleski
...an agenda which would threaten profits and therefore jobs
yea...as opposed to outsourcing tech jobs...which boosts corporate profits...and threatens jobs.
14 - Steve Rhodes
And you would think supporters of freem markets would realize health care would be more efficient if the insurance companies weren't part of it.
Yes, people at insurance companies would lose jobs, but more jobs would be created when people/companies spend the money they save on health care.
If you talk to doctors, nurses and other health care providers many will say there is a ton of waste (and bad decisions) because of insurance companies.
15 - dean
iam dr dean the jelly bean him self
16 - dean
i am dr dean the jelly bean him self i am fat and very lardge