Thursday Themes

Computer woes on this end, so this may be a little shorter than usual.

Did you watch the GOP Presidential debate last night? One this is for sure -- if any of the debaters is elected, health reform will be repealed. They could not have been clearer. And Rick Perry repeated his claim that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme and a lie, indicating he would abolish it. So keep that in mind when making your decisions. And here's a little fact checking on their claims about Dem policies. Here's some more fact checking.

Tonight is President Obama's speech on jobs. He will renew a push for spending to help the economy. I think this is right -- I've said all along that you don't take money out of a bleeding economy. To get people back to work, we can fix highways and bridges and transportation in this country -- all of which needs to be done anyway. But the GOP deficit hawks won't buy it, so it's largely dead on arrival except for extending the cut to the payroll tax, which may be acceptable to the GOP. However, Politico reports that the House GOP may be adopting a "kinder, gentler" tone with the President. If true, we could actually see something get done.

As the super-committee gets ready to meet for the first time, they have huge challenges ahead. And the lobbyists are going at them, hot and heavy. But some leading Dems -- agreeing that now is not the time to bleed the economy of much-needed cash -- are sorry they went down this road. Unfortunately, it's too late for their remorse to mean anything.

In the "better late than never" category, New York lawmakers launch a petition for health care for 9/11 workers. It's been 10 years and these folks still haven't received our thanks. Totally wrong.

A new study says doctors' fees are part of the reason for out of control health care costs in the United States. Sounds right. Meanwhile, medical practices do all they can to save on costs. Hmmm. How do these two stories -- both in the same newspaper (NY Times) fit together?

And health costs have risen while insurance coverage has been shrinking. So many people with insurance can't afford copays and coinsurance, says the Commonwealth Fund. Under-insurance can be as big a problem as uninsurance. And health care costs are seriously eating into families' disposable income. No wonder the health care sector is one of the few parts of the economy that's growing.

Those of you who have been in the hospital already know this -- you can't get sleep in a hospital, although you need sleep to get well.

This is interesting. A patent bill that is pending in the Senate would get a major law firm off the hook for a huge malpractice judgment. The law firm was supposed to apply for a patent exception for a drug company and they blew the deadline. The bill would change the rules about the deadlines, making the filing they did make a timely one, and eliminating their malpractice. Nice to have friends in high places.

And there you go. Have a great day. Jennnifer