POW.

I think this is the McCain campaign's equivalent of "Let them eat cake."

Isn't this like saying the people lining up outside the food pantry *are not* hungry?

Moments like this make me hope that somehow the mask will slip a little and average folks will see these neocon f*ktards for what they are...as Jon Stewart said the other night, "Republicans love America, they just hate 50% of the people living here."

Health Care: You can't have it, my friends.

More and more, the McCain camp's message seems to be "I spent five years in a POW camp. Quit being such pussies."

This is golden. Better yet is the argument that if you just don't call the uninsured "uninsured", then they aren't uninsured!

They have learned the lessons of the Bush administration well.

Did that prison guard draw a Blue Cross in the dirt for McCain?

The level of arrogance in McCain campaign has yet again reached a new level. How can some voters not see this???????????

Um, seriously?

We don't have a health care crisis in this country because we've just renamed some category such as "uninsured" to.....what, exactly?

Freaking hilarious.

Obama-Biden? Please use this, even if the "advisor" gets tossed overboard. Please.

The real problem with this analysis is that it is utterly heartless, and reveals that conservatives don't give a rat's ass about anyone without money. This is why it has the potential to be significant -- gaffes can have major legs if they give an opening to talk about something that everyone in the press already knows is true.

I'm sure all of the county hospitals struggling to make ends meet will be very happy to hear about this plan....as well as the all of those taxpayers who support these hospitals.

Good grief....does ANYONE in the McCain campaign frickin' understand economics?

Stupid dumb ass yee haw guffawing white bread GOP machine!

Move 'em on, head 'em up,
Head 'em up, move 'em out,
Move 'em on, head 'em out
Rawhide!
Set 'em out, ride 'em in
Ride 'em in, let 'em out,
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in
Rawhide.

The more I think about this, the more I see that statement as utterly worthy of Grover fucking Norquist.

And just how in hell is the Census Bureau supposed to know all about everyone finances and assets they can sell to pay the bills. Oh, excuse me, they just tap in the NSACIAFBI database that already has all that although the public and the Congress has been informed. Cheney is taking it with him when he leaves so he can accurately know who to cleanse after the coup of 2009 o whatever.

And not only that, but if they're also hungry- s'ils n'ont pas de pain, qu'ils mangent de la brioche!

This sounds like an excellent plan to me. And since his latest die-hard supporter is an ER nurse, I suggest we all show up at her hospital when she is working.

Hey, do you think they take appointments? Cause I've got this problem. Everytime I hear about McFucks future policies, I shit myself.

This is very off topic, but didn't Justin Rood work for TPM several years ago? I ask this because he has a piece up right now on abcnews which blames Biden and only Biden for the bankruptcy mess. What's most unfair about this smear is that nowhere in the article does Rood point out that every single Republican in the Senate, including McCain, voted for the bankruptcy bill in question while Obama voted AGAINST it.

The difference between democrats and republicans is that republicans would have no problem putting the words of this stupid mofo in the mouth of the Democratic candidate. I'm not so sure the reverse is true.

John McCain doesn't think people need better or more affordable health care, they can always just go to teh emergency room, problem solved.

Make McCain own it, or admit his advisers are stupid mofo's. Strike that. make McCain own.

Even our corporations, which are increasingly crumbling under unsustainable health-care costs for their employees, understand that the status quo simply does not even make good business sense.

Viola! I have no point, just like to say it!

So, basically, "quitcher whining. You'll get your care if you collapse. Can't pay for it? What, are you incapable of writing a check? What? How can you not have enough cash on hand to pay for open heart surgery? That's tough. Hate to see anyone take a capital gains hit by liquidating part of their portfolio early or surrender some bonds before they reach maturity, but debts must be paid, you know."

Reminds me of Katrina when all the Republicans were like "what the fuck is wrong with these morons? Why didn't they throw some bottled water and jerky into their SUV's and get the hell out of there? Just too stupid to live, I guess."

Can we forward this to that PUMA up in Wisconsin that thinks McCain is against overturning Roe v. Wade? I recall her being a nurse....

Also--not to rag on Greg and Eric

Aw, go ahead. It's healthy. ;)

[blogger worship is just so - ick.]

This is the "catsup is a vegetable" school of Republican thought.

That great plan could have only come McCain. Uninsureds going to emergency rooms is not free. We are all pay for it higher through health care costs for the rest of us. McCain should not be held responsible for this plan because he was a POW don’t you know.

I would personally like to put McLame and his advisers in the emergency room.

Everyday McCain makes George Bush look like Enstein.

My God, the McCain operation is so threadbare that it's a wonder it can even move an inch. This has to be the most lame-brained comment about American healthcare ever. Will it get the attention that it deserves? The Obama people should not leave it to chance: Time for a new ad, boys, to run in every single consequential battleground state. Make'em choke on this stupidity.

Oilbama proves he is the worlds biggest Celeb when he accepts his party’s nomination atop an enormous, Greek-columned stage - built by the same cheesy set team that put together Britney Spears’ last tour.

Greg: Can you pass on the message to Eric, Obama up by 6 points on Gallup daily tracker today?

Not that it means anything, but Eric may have to find red meat in other places.

What is up with the Media claiming Michelle Oilbama is a great beauty? Since when is a
flatchested fatassed sourpussfaced woman considered a great beauty?

Wow, where does McSame find these advisers? Yeah, everyone use the ER... great idea. As is described in the name, the ER is only for EMERGENCIES. As someone who works in public health, I would like to call this idiot's attention to all of the necessary PREVENTIVE care that one cannot receive in the ER. To significantly improve overall health in the US, we need MUCH more emphasis on preventive care. This includes everything from regular check-ups to nutrition advice to cancer screening. By the time your health problem reaches the level that you can be treated in the ER, you're screwed. But it's obvious John Goodman and McSame don't really care about the uninsured. They would prefer to pretend they don't exist.

Seems to me that repug$ aren't aware of the word accountability. Emergency room service is not a free public service. Someone will have to pay of the services rendered. Or is an emergency room visit McCain's concept of free medical care to be paid for the the government?

Jeez, is that a raccoon on Goodman's head? Where do they get these clowns?

As a nurse, I am so hapy to learn that ER's are magical places where everything is FREE. No Insurance? No problem. Just go tot he ER and someone (??!!) will pick up the tab.

Or.. we could have universal basic coverage, so that you don't have to use the ER for your head cold. Or your eye infection. Or your pap smear. Of course, you probably caused your own maladies and are failing to take responisibity for them.

Of course John and rethugs enjoy unlimited coverage in everything from health to home insurance. (What do you think home insurance on 8 homes costs, anyway?)

What scares me is how much McCain is hanging in there, in spite of transparently stupid statements such as this.

This seems too good to be true. Phil Gramm. The number-of-houses imbroglio. And now this. McCain is so obviously out-of-touch with the economic plight of most of America. When will start to be reflected in the polls? What more do people need?

I think you're all giving Goodman too little credit. But he's not taking his idea far enough. The solution is to have the Census Bureau define all the sick people as healthy. Then we don't need health insurance.

Jesus tapdancing Christ! Do I really need to go into my last experience with emergency rooms? To make it really short, I have insurance, and I still find emergency rooms a poor substitute for actual health care. For one thing, you have people like me with my busted leg and the other guy ahead of me who just had a heart attack clogging up the place so that if you're there with cold symptoms or something else the doctor you don't have might have dealt with more efficiently, you're in for a long wait. Hope you brought a book.

Man, MCCain 2008 - the campaign that just keeps on giving. It's a Macacca moment for ol' Johnny boy on healthcare. His buddy just opened his mouth as wide as Texas and stuck both feet in.

Is McCain truly in charge here? It looks like a bunch of loudmouth loose Republicans cannons just rumbling around bashing into things.

It also amazes me how little compassion Republicans have for others. It shouldn't by now, but there it is.

ERs are only required to provide care regardless of ability to pay. They are not required to provide FREE care.

...adding, hospitals don't always abide by the first rule. Witness the video in the documentary "Sicko" where a private hospital used a taxicab to dump a patient, complete with IV drip, near a public hospital, hoping they'd see her before she wandered off.

Obviously, McCrankeypants has never been to an emergency room.

I've got an idea, I'll send him down to Parkland in Dallas on a Wed. afternoon after he has had to take a day off his crappy-paying job to get his kid some meds. "Oh, crap, its the third time the damn kids been sick this month and my boss says I'm missing too much work...oh, well."

HEAD... IN... SAND.

Everytime I get worried about this election, someone in the McCain camp opens their mouth.

And what's with the GOP hostility towards the Census anyway? Newt came up with a "new contract with america" and one of the ten items was "get rid of the Census". Whuh?

Could they pick a more innocuous target? Let's get rid of Readers Digest too!

GM,Ford Other Businesses Drop Health Insurance for Workers/Retirees - Say President McCain's HHS to Cover Care in Emergency Rooms

Crisis in American Healthcare as Emergency Rooms and Hospitals Go Broke, Close as Patient Load Explodes

Hospital administrators said they have seen a torrent of patients who believe the McCain administration is covering their insurance. Yet, the McCain HHS says they don't have 'a dime extra' to spend on claims sent to the federal government by hospitals or doctors.

Shorter Goodman:

The answer to no health insurance is Guns

As in: Get one. Blow your brains out. Decrease the surface population.

Health Care Advisor: "People should just shut up and go to the emergency room."

Economic Advisor: "America is a nation of whiners."

Foreign Policy Advisor: "Let's kick Russia out of the G-8"

McCain: "Don't talk to me. I'm cranky."

I'm just thinking of my experience. For about ten years I had a painful digestive condition. Thought it was bad diet. Didn't see a doc because I couldn't afford to.

Then one night I passed out due to massive internal bleeding.

Thankfully I had my "insurance" of emergency room care. There, after they stuck tubes down me and up me, I was hospitalized. They found out I had a chronic illness -- something that I could've taken care of and controlled if I could've afforded regular doctor visits and the $300 a month for medication. (luckily my love agreed to marry me in an awkward hospital proposal, and I got on her insurance the following month).

I am wondering. Has John McCain ever paid for health insurance? He was a military son, so probably the government covered him. In the military, the government covered him. In the POW camp, the North Vietnamese government covered him. When he was an elected official, the government covered him. (And for the neo-con objectors, perhaps the North Vietnamese medical coverage was not all that different from some people's HMO's.)

I guess if you have never had to write a check for health coverage, you really have no idea of what it really costs.

And all the government sponsored health care is picked up the taxpayers.

According to Exra Klein, Goodman is also the godfather of "Health Savings Accounts," another (non)-genius Repug plan for the uninsured.

Goodman is off message. Instead of "Voila! Problem solved," he should have said "POW! Problem solved."

McCain even paid off his ex-wife with the promise of covering her healthcare for life. He left for Cindy (18 years younger) after the wife suffered crippling injuries in a car accident and was no longer attractive.

Too bad he isn't also McCain's economic advisor. That way there wouldn't be any homelessness either.

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American -- even illegal aliens -- as homeless. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of shelter should they need a place to sleep.

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

What in the heck is this Goodman person smoking? I'm a little surprised we haven't heard from any hospital administrators or CFOs yet. Hospitals have four basic sources of revenue: government payers, commercial payers, private payers, and miscellaneous revenue. Miscellaneous might be anything from endowments to pop machines, but it is minor in comparison with payment for services. Commercial payers are insurance companies, both individual and employer-paid policies. Private payers are of two kinds: the rich, who can actually pay cash for services, and the rest of us, who will either go broke paying for services or default on our medical debt. Government payers include Medicare, Medicaid, TriCare, VA, and Federal employees plans such as the one John McCain enjoys.

When a person visits the emergency room for any reason, be it emergency or non-emergency, SOMEBODY is going to pay. First of all, the hospital will bill any known payers. Second, the hospital will bill the individual, who may or may not be able to pay. If the person can't pay all or any portion of the bill, SOMEBODY is still going to pay. Guess who that is?

In addition to the usual "government" payers, there is a little program called Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments. Hospitals who serve a large number of Medicare, Medicaid, or indigent individuals are eligible for a direct influx of federal funds. For 2008, the DSH allotment distributed through state Medicaid programs exceeds $10 billion. The intent of these payments is to reimburse hospitals (mostly large and urban hospitals) for some portion of their uncompensated indigent care. These funds are hidden in the Medicaid and Medicare budgets and are not often brought to light. And guess who pays for DSH? Taxpayers.

Of course, DSH payments alone don't compensate most hospitals for the losses they incur from uncompensated care. Where will the revenue come from? Well, the primary source is inflated billing to commercial insurance and private payers. Thus, insurance payments increase and ALL of our insurance premiums rise. These insurance costs are somewhat offset for the employer by tax deductions. So, who foots the bill for that? Other taxpayers.

But also, many public not-for-profit hospitals rely on local taxation from city, county, or hospital district taxes, or university funds or other state funding sources. These taxes are actually intended to offset the costs of indigent care. And guess who pays for that? Taxpayers, of course. Are we seeing a pattern here?

The thing that drives me insane is the right-wing mantra of "no socialized medicine." Well, guess what? SOMEBODY is going to pay for health care, and that SOMEBODY is all of us! In addition to our own personal payments and the increasing cost of health insurance, we taxpayers pay gazillions of dollars every year for not only the classic government health care plans, but for all the other hidden taxes and fund transfers that creep through the system like fungal rhizomes.

So, this Goodman idiot, in addition to his ignorance of the nature and desirability of preventive and comprehensive health care that does not rely on emergency room abuse, is also abysmally ignorant of the fact that we ALL are going to pay for the uncompensated care that hospitals would experience under his plan.

Sheesh.

Josh linked to Jonathan Cohn's post on TNR's The Plank blog:

[John] Goodman runs a conservative policy think-tank...

Amazing what can be passed off as thinking to credulous conservative suckXXXX... sponsors, as long as it steers clear of being pointy-headed.

P.S.  The so-called think-tank is the National Center for Public Policy Analysis.