No Health Care Reform Reason #23: Geography is Destiny

Here's an outstanding example of why there won't be any significant health care reform (already, of course, single payer is off the table, so you can already see that nobody's really serious here), to wit: the Senate committee charged with producing something on the issue absolutely refuses to listen to any talk about other countries and their solutions to the problem. Along the way, we get an interesting peek at a new book about to emerge, comparing the various healthcare systems around the world. It should pretty much go without saying that there is no possibility here of anything besides mere window dressing, which means that anything that emerges will: a. cost everyone some money, and b. not do much at all, either in terms of changing the current system or providing any more care or coverage. There are comparisons to be made with the financial debacle and the plans to "regulate" that have emerged recently, but Chaos will refrain from those at this moment. For now, it's enough to note that Chaos will take credit for being entirely correct that the US healthcare system is politically untouchable, and thus, not one for anyone to rely upon.