The Truth About The Frosts

Brought to you by Jonathan Cohn:

We know that people with modest incomes are having a harder time paying their medical bills, because insurance is getting so pricey and--increasingly--the benefits available leave them exposed to high out-of-pocket expenses. We also know this is particularly true of people who can't get coverage through large employers--a class of people that is expanding as the business community slowly extricates itself from the mess of providing workers with insurance.

In other words, it's not just the most destitute Americans who need assistance getting health insurance. It's people who have jobs, make a decent living, and own their homes. And when medical crisis hits, they're forced to take drastic steps--like selling their homes, depleting life savings, declaring bankruptcy, or simply going without the care they and their loved ones need. Unless, of course, the government provides them with insurance at affordable rates.

And, of course, that this is a problem afflicting the non-destitute just is the case for health care reform. The market is structurally screwed up in a way that has nothing in particular to do with income. It's true, of course, that if you're rich enough you can spend your way around the system's flaws, but even non-poor people often can't afford insurance, and even people who can afford insurance and have it still find dealing with the system to be hellish.