The Congressional Budget Office predicts 25 to 33% of America's uninsured will remain without health coverage under reform proposals. How many people is that?
With over 51 million people without coverage, it's 13 to 17 million people.
(Note: The latest Census figures showed 47 million without coverage. Add 1.1 million for every 1% increase in the unemployment rate. From April '08 to April '09, unemployment increase 3.8%. Add 4.2 million to 47 million and total exceeds 51 million.)
President Obama has no plans to provide coverage for illegal immigrants. They are part of ten to twenty million without coverage. The other part will include noncomplying citizens.
Texas has a liability insurance requirement for drivers, yet 20% of drivers in San Angelo don't carry the required coverage. Why would health care be different, especially if the citizen does most of the paying? Details are yet to come, but they bear close scrutiny.
Political expediency, also known as pragmatism, means changes will favor entrenched interests. They'll be layered under David Axelrod "shining city on the hill" framing. Health care reform is likely to be deform, half done and expensive for the individual citizen. Congress' owners want it that way. The pragmatic Obama team is poised to deliver.
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