Unlike the other story, this one seems to have a somewhat more local focus.

Anna, your time is short.

v(reality)free. Anna Eshoo isn't going anywhere. What polls you been snorting?

Finally, our government has done something FOR the people. I'm a small business owner and getting buried alive by healthcare costs. I've thought many times about giving up the business because it's just too hard for so little benefit. My families medical expenses have grown so much in the last decade, I'm even thinking about leaving California.

@v-ha you are probably right. Eshoo is not going anywhere give the leftist political landscape that is her district. On the other hand what Eshoo thinks and does is not going to matter a come November. T

@pat This bill will not lower healthcare costs. There is so much accounting gimmickry and double speak in it that it is mind boggling. Beyond that, the supposed savings that the bill will make are predicated on a future congress making some pretty hefty cuts in spending, something which is extremely unlikely to happen.

There is no doubt that the US needs healthcare reform. Anyone conservative or liberal can see that; however, it is equally true that this particular bill is simply to the vehicle for that reform.

I am i favor of health care reform but not so much of the idea that i will be forced to buy it or else. Whenever someone threatens you to do something, it is obviously a sign that that person or thing is way out of line.

I tend to be in the middle of politics but I have noticed many outcry's of government overreach and that is a very real threat that we face as a country. America is a beacon of hope and prosperity but it certainly lacks visual appearance in places like Oakland, several neighborhoods in sf, East Palo Alto and many more. My question that i want to pose to Liberal democrats that basically run CA, is why not actually try and live in one of these neighborhoods. When you actually live in the "ghetto" you'll notice a different set of mind set that people use to survive on a day to day basis.

When either Republicans finally learn to accept other people in their conservative circles or Democrats finally learn to fully integrate their noble causes with noticeable minorities, then we will have some change to political structure. The way i see it now, the same old Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans still run our country without having real people input in to the political machine.

steve:

can you elaborate:
- what would your ideal legislation look like to reform healthcare
- what ideas did conservatives offer to reform healthcare during the Bush II presidency.

@digger: I'll answer in reverse order

1) Bush 2 did nothing about healthcare. On the other hand he did try social security reform (something we still so very desperately need). I would also suggest that Bush 2 was no conservative and in my opinion made numerous fiscal and policy mistakes

2) Here are a few ideas: It would create a market oriented framework e.g. permit interstate purchase of healthcare and small business pooling (not 150 new bureaucracies), it would include overwhelming tort reform, it would not be employer centered (something that is a huge problem with the current system and drives costs), it would incentivize more HSA-centric forms of insurance (i.e. make the interface between the care provider and patient closer and rely on insurance for more severe situations), it would eliminate pre-existing conditions but with a wait period for coverage (to prevent folks from getting insurance when they get sick), and it would allow prescription medication reimportation