Ms.McDonald.....I agree with your post,mostly.We do need health care reform which has been renamed,by the way,to health care"overhaul".Many Americans complain about insurance costs,deductibles and such.I am one who pays cash for everything and I can assure you that if anyone steps in my shoes one time,they will be glad to pay for insurance deductibles,co-pays and whatever else they need to pay to keep insurance.Although I do agree that insurance costs are high.I believe that fraud constitutes higher costs as well as frivilous lawsuits.We have a great system of doctors and specialists that spend their lives saving people and they need to be paid but I do not believe our government has any business dictating what their costs are or what doctor you can and can not see among many other flaws that present themselves in this health care bill.FDR,Clinton and now Obama;it would seem that we pay no attention to history and are beating a dead horse here.There is a solution to the problem and it will not satisfy both sides ever,however,gustapo tactics,forcing liberal agenda in any plan is wrong and Americans are starting to see this.The same Congress that is cramming ridiculous policy after ridiculous policy down our throats is the same Congress that a year ago was called the "laziest"do nothing Congress in history!Seems odd that they would start a partisan liberal policy scramble less than a year before elections one should think.Wonder if it has to do with the fact that extreme liberalism is a problem to Americans as well as extreme right wing conservatism??Until we"meet in the middle",policy will be partisan and one sided,never really abiding by the laws set forth in our Constitution and I for one am against any party that would overstep the Constitution.No,health care is not in our Constitution but many laws are that will be broken.Big governemnt is Communism in its' earliest phase and it is obvious that Obama,Pelosi,and Reid are supporters of Big government.This blame game has to stop!!

I am guilty of blaming the left for our nations woes and I am wrong.Republicans are responsible for enormous spending,I just feel like the Conservatives place the money in better ways than the liberals.If we are to spend a lot of money on health care,then it is going to take a plan in the middle to work.This 500billion dolars you say is wasted in medicare is liberal propoganda Ms.McDonald and you have heard that from the liberal media.Medicare recipients have it hard and that money should be reappropriated in Medicare but not cut.All Medicare recipients live below all poverty levels and it should not be that way.Medicare recipients have to pay out money to complete their coverage with the income they have fromm Disability and SSI.We take care of our own and it should be so.Taking this money away from the program will devastate Medicare,everyone knows it.It is hard to stop this when the liberals in Congress are cramming one policy bill after another with crazy deadlines which keep one from completely knowing what is being voted for in each bill.Sorry to say but when November comes,all of this will be changed and it would not surprise me if many people are impeached for their participation in this agressive offensive against their own country.

Remember the inflate your tires thing from Obama?Well,if he looks at these sort of things then why is it not obvious that paying over 20billion dollars a year in just health care alone for illegal aliens is a problem??I refuse to be brainwashed by the liberal agenda.I also refuse to be brainwashed by far right ideals either.Like I said,the middle is where the solution is and obviously no solution will be found as all policies now are far far left.

Republicans had many years of being in control.They could have stopped the runaway train of soaring healthcare costs and inavailability of affordable insurance if they had wanted to. They chose to do nothing.

It's amazing to me that now with the democrats plan in the making, the republicans want to chime in with "better ideas". Sorry republicans I usually stand with you, but I just don't trust you to do the right thing on this one,considering your history.

Obama promised to pay for this plan with the elimination of waste and fraud. If waste and fraud can be eliminated and he has allowed it to continue under his rule, he has been negligent of his dutied as well as past presidents.

That is a farce to pass a bill that people do not want. This adminstration is not interested in doing the will of the people, the job they are elected to do, they are interested in taking control of the people...that is scary

Our constitution declares 'that which is not designated in the constitution will be left to the states.' Health insurance is definitely not mentioned in the constitution.