Beware the Pig in the Poke

The Baucus health care bill (will this this become the president's ???) is looking more and more like a pig in a poke. When the senator introduced the bill on the Senate floor this morning, he reportedly acknowledged its chief criterion was to be acceptable to any 60 senators who are needed for passage (short of the nuclear option).

Republican Senator Olympia Snowe (ME) announced her own criterion: no money added to the deficit. And there are some 584 amendments already proposed to the legislation.

All this makes me wonder...what happened to "reforming" health care? Why aren't senators concerned with ensuring the quality of our present system while expanding it to include those who are left out for reasons of income or pre-existing condition? Shouldn't the issue be resolving current problems in the most practical way possible rather than creating a grossly patchworked pig?

And to make matters worse, this morning Humana, the insurance company that provides Medicare Advantage plans that increase coverage for elderly purchasers, was told (on penalty of lawsuit) to stop sending letters to its customers informing them of the effect cutting Medicare funding will have on their premiums.

Say what? Is the pig also gobbling free speech rights? No wonder seniors are angry, and anyone with a knowledge of and appreciation for our Constitution should be also. This administration bumbles along with a heavy foot, whether through ignorance or intent.