Who has government-run health care, and who could use it?

	Get a Widget To add a widget that counts uninsured Americans for your own blog or Web site, click the “Get & Share” button below the widget. Because WordPress takes exception to certain scripts, this is a screen capture, not the actual widget… just go here. I know, it’s “kinda lame.” I’ve tried several things to get it to work, including the site’s “add this to your blog…” Do you see it? It may show up later, I suppose, but it sure wasn’t there as I was working on it… About The Data This live ticker begins with the Census Bureau’s count of uninsured Americans for 2008: 46.3 million people. That data is part of the Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC), released 9/10/2009. For more information, see this Census Bureau summary. The ticker uses the Census data through the end of 2008 then a rate of 14,000 additional uninsured Americans each day. That rate of increase is derived from a Center for American Progress study released in February 2009. For more information, see this explanation of the CAP data.
A new study by Representative Anthony Weiner (D – NY), member of the Health Subcommittee and Co-Chair of the Caucus on the Middle Class, revealed that 151 members of the House and Senate currently receive government-funded, government-administered single-payer health care – Medicare. The list to the right was published based on information from the study available at DailyKos today. On the list of recipients are 55 Republicans who have steadfastly opposed other Americans getting the public option, like the one they have chosen.	The list of elected congressional recipients of Medicare who also oppose the public option is: Rep. Ralph M. Hall Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett Rep. Sam Johnson Rep. C.W. Bill Young Rep. Howard Coble Sen. Jim Bunning Sen. Richard G. Lugar Rep. Don Young Sen. Charles E. Grassley Sen. Robert F. Bennett Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers Sen. Orrin G. Hatch Sen. Richard C. Shelby Rep. Jerry Lewis Sen. James M. Inhofe Rep. Ron Paul Rep. Henry E. Brown Sen. Pat Roberts Sen. George V. Voinovich Sen. John McCain Rep. Judy Biggert Sen. Thad Cochran Rep. Harold Rogers Rep. Dan Burton Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon Rep. Frank R. Wolf Sen. Christopher S. Bond Rep. Michael N. Castle Rep. Joe Pitts Rep. Tom Petri Sen. Lamar Alexander Rep. Doc Hastings Rep. Cliff Stearns Rep. Sue Myrick Rep. John Carter Sen. Mitch McConnell Sen. Jon Kyl Rep. Phil Gingrey Rep. Nathan Deal Rep. John Linder Rep. Kay Granger Rep. John L. Mica Rep. Walter B. Jones Sen. Jim Risch Rep. Ed Whitfield Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Rep. Virginia Foxx Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite Sen. Saxby Chambliss Sen. Michael B. Enzi Rep. Elton Gallegly Rep. Donald Manzullo Rep. Peter T. King Rep. Ander Crenshaw Hypocrisy is alive and well in D.C.
The Congressional Budget Office figures show that tethering a public option to Medicare reimbursement rates would save the government $110 billion! That’s even more than the “public option” in which the government has to negotiate rates with doctors and other health care providers.	There are LOTS of fiscally conservative ways to improve the bottom line, and places where the profit motive can drive innovation and reduce costs — but the bottom line is: Let’s get the profit motive out of health care payment.