Bearman Cartoon: Harry Reid

For my out of country readers a little background on the editorial cartoon below.

– President Obama wants a Healthcare Reform Bill passed
– Many Republicans and some moderate Dems don’t want to include a so called Public Option (whereby people can buy insurance from the government) for fear of the long term costs.
– Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced a version of the Healthcare Bill that includes a State by State opt out solution. This caused Olympia Snowe, the lone Republican who supported the commitee plan to publicly back out of her support as well as some others.

The biggest issue IMO is that the two largest areas of concern are those who want insurance who can’t get it at a reasonable rate and those who can’t withstand a major catastrophe. Now I am not economist but couldn’t the government put out a bid much like a large company for insurance companies to offer them group rates. Individuals without a company plan could get this corporate rate rather than expensive COBRA or the like. Then the government could offer a “public option” to those wanting catastrophic insurance such that it would kick in when medical bills reached a certain percent of yearly gross income.

10 27 09 Bearman Cartoon Great Pumpkin Reid

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  1. I love the title and your impression of Shultz!

  2. D. Long says:

    Awesome! Any reference to this classic is awesome, and I love the take on it. Good jorb.

  3. hahaha. aw. that used to be my favorite cartoon.

    um, really. i apologize from the depths of my heart for my absence. but if you knew what my week was like you’d be like, bringing me candy and assorted alcoholic beverages.

  4. Tony says:

    My wife & I don’t have private health insurance due to the high cost. The government has a plan here called Medicare where you use your medicare card for visits to the doctors, hospital, prescriptions etc. You pay what they call the Gap & medicare covers the rest. In cases where you have to pay the full amount up front, then you take your receipt to a Medicare office & they refund you a percentage which is about 2/3 I think. My wife Michelle usually sorts all that stuff out while I’m at work so I’m not sure of the actual refund amount. Works OK for us though. The only draw back is that it can take longer if you need an operation or to see a specialist on the public health system. Whereas if you have private health insurance you can get stuff like that done quicker through the more expensive private hospitals. Goodness look how much I have rambled on. I almost wrote a novel.
    THE END

  5. Tony says:

    Oh great carton too

  6. Tony says:

    Oops that should be 2 O’s,
    Great CartOOn

  7. Susi Spice says:

    its ok tony he likes it when ppl comment on his great cartons… coaches and the like…

  8. Susi Spice says:

    lol bearman look up the dictionary that IS how you spell pyjamas!

  9. John K says:

    What you are describing is basically what the publich option idea is.

    • John K says:

      The only big differance is that it will not be a fund that kicks in but real health insurance that will also offer wellness coverage…. But what it will be is a big group plan that will be able to negotiate with insurers for a better rate.

      • The PO that is being floated seems like Medicare for all. I am not referring to increasing an already burdened system. The government shouldn’t have administrative costs beyond those necessary to create a private bid and outlying choices.

        And I am not saying a PO is entirely bad. What I am saying is that there are some areas that Rep and Dems agree on that need to be changed in the current structure. Why not pass that bill so a. it makes it easier to get insurance for those who currently can’t and b. no one has to lose their house or go bankrupt trying to pay for medical expenses. If they want to argue the merits of a complete healthcare overhaul, that should be the next step. This just continue to moves us away from anything being done.

  10. Bo Lumpkin says:

    I really liked the cartoon but I think the statement, “The government shouldn’t have administrative cost beyond….” is probably the most hilarious thing I’ve read in a long time. Let the government take over health care, they’ve done such wonderful jobs with education and the bank bailouts.

  11. frigginloon says:

    Pumpkins, I thought they were basketballs 🙂

  12. bschooled says:

    Hahaha! I love it!

    And thanks for the background info, Bearman…if it weren’t for you, I’d have no idea what I was laughing about…

    For real.:)

  13. David says:

    The Great Pumpkin’s on tonight again. I’m gonna have a hard time not seeing Harry Reid emerging from the pumpkin patch when I see it. Nice job on Linus too!

  14. yorksnbeans says:

    Love his ears!! 🙂

  15. Nate Fakes says:

    Nicely done. The Great Pumpkin is a classic and any jokes associated with it are typically right up my alley!

  16. spilledinkguy says:

    Could I be the real life Linus?! It seems possible! 🙂

  17. G says:

    We went through something similiar in my state last year, when the Dems wanted to open up the state employees insurance to the towns. The insurance companies said “fine, but this will allow us to reopen contracts four years early and renegotiate the current rates and you’ll lose the savings already built in.”

    Suffice to say, that measure was defeated.

  18. Susi Spice says:

    tsk tsk tsk..when will people learn… democracy doesnt work!

  19. George says:

    Delusional Linus doesn’t need any more competition in his pumpkin patch. 🙂 Nice job, B!



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