Random Nuclear Strikes

I mean, who would have thought that a massive government program would be paying over twice the average cost paid for by people in the private sector, on something as necessary as oxygen?

Only you, me and anyone who understands how markets work.

Millions of people with respiratory diseases have relied on oxygen equipment, delivered to their homes, to help them breathe. A basic setup, including three years of deliveries of small oxygen tanks, can be bought from pharmacies and other retailers for as little as $3,500, or about $100 a month.

Unless, that is, the buyer is Medicare, the government health care program for older Americans.

Despite enormous buying power, Medicare pays far more. Rather than buy oxygen equipment outright, Medicare rents it for 36 months before patients take ownership, and pays for a variety of services that critics say are often unnecessary.

The total cost to taxpayers and patients is as much as $8,280, or more than double what somebody might spend at a drugstore.

The high expense of oxygen equipment — which cost Medicare over $1.8 billion last year — is hardly an anomaly.

The article goes on to tell us just how the suppliers of medical equipment keep these costs where they are,

“These industries rely on a basic threat: If you mess with us, we can turn the seniors against you,” said former Senator Alan K. Simpson, Republican of Wyoming, who tried cutting Medicare payments while he was in Congress. “Angering seniors is the quickest route to political suicide.”

Many of those battles focus on the $427 billion Medicare program. Because of fierce patient and corporate lobbying, for instance, Medicare still pays prices for many items that are based on rates established in the early 1980s, when devices were often much more expensive than they are now.

And even with all of the overspending and possibility for “political suicide”, the entirety of the Democrat Party is onboard with extending this fiasco to every person in America (and notice I didn’t just specify “citizens”).

Because they care.

About what, I haven’t quite nailed down yet.

Found at the SayAnything blog.

We all know what bad legislating is. I posted on that over the weekend (for all you non-stopping by RNS on the weekend types, hit that link and be offended).

On the other hand, we Washingtonians had some good legislating in the second half of last week.

It all started a few weeks back when the Washington State Supreme Court decided that Washington Voters were too stupid to know that when we voted (a 58% majority) in favor of a one-percent cap on property taxes, that we knew we were voting in favor of a one-percent cap on property taxes, and they struck the law down.

This led to a hue and cry amongst the unwashed such as myself (no postings because I was on vacation at the time). After a couple weeks of this our (Barely) Governor Gregiore remembered it was an election year and that the guy she had to use King County to beat in 2004, Dino Rossi, was going to challenge her for the seat again.

Also, her fellow Dems have been enjoying a rather wide majority in both houses of the legislature these past couple years and they wanted to do everything they could to keep it. What with receiving phone calls at all hours of the day and night to reinstate the cap, they were begging for a solution.
She quickly called for a special session of the legislature to write and pass a piece of legislation that would reinstate the 1% cap.

And verily, it was law again. With a vote of 39 yeas to 9 nays. Total time in session: 12 hours.

Voting against reinstating the cap was one of RNS’s favorite liberals, Senator Adam Kline. I’m sure you all remember Senator Kline from when he attempted to ban ATV’s even though there is no where in his very urban district that anyone can legally ride an ATV. He is also one of the leading sponsors of the failed bill to mandate gun show sales through FFL’s only. Fellow gun show hater, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, also voted against the cap.

All in all, not a bad round of legislatin’. Now if only they take that 12 hour time frame and institute it for every session in the future, I might be able to stand those bastiges.