Sen. Gregg: Force the poor to buy health insurance

And this man was nominated for Commerce Secretary. Glad he turned down Obama's offer and showed his true colors. This Senator is simply clueless and out of touch with the healthcare crisis and uninsured in this country.

New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg, who was almost President Obama's commerce secretary, thinks he has a solution to America's healthcare crisis. Watch him explain the plan below:

This video is from Fox News Sunday, published to YouTube on Sunday, July 19, 2009.

You didn't catch that, here's what the senator just proposed:

Force the poor into buying "high-deductible" policies. But don't call them poor. Call them "illegal" or "young people" with wonky spending priorities.

Throw in a subsidy of unknown value to somehow "incentivize" folks who have not seen a doctor in years to suddenly vanish a valuable several hundred dollars from their monthly income for individual or family plans.

Don't mention any way to "incentivize" insurance companies to cover the "uninsurable" due to pre-existing conditions or chronic illnesses, of whom there are many. In fact, ignore them. They're not much concern at the ballot box.

Finally, Gregg's masterstroke: Don't mention that 'high deductible' means insurance which will refuse payment on needed care unless the holder can pay a lump sum to initiate treatment, usually $5,000 - $30,000, or more, which of course is Absolutely No Good to someone who cannot afford decent insurance in the first place. (At which point, many Republicans would suggest "health savings accounts" to fill in the gap, which is also no help to the poor.)
Read on.

Did you hear Sen. Gregg? He just said that 50% of the uninsured are people who make $75k/year. What planet does he live on. Memo to Sen. Gregg: From Wikipedia:

In 2007, there were 45.7 million people in the US (15.3% of the population) who were without health insurance for at least part of that year, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Census Bureau hasn't revealed the numbers for 2008 which is much higher. It makes you wonder why there are some many idiot Senators on Capitol Hill and why they like to stay in office: healthcare benefits, perks, and automatic raises.