MEM, not to deviate from you and G-Man having fun, but when has Congress ever voted to cut medicare by even a dollar? And, because of that answer, what makes you think they'll cut it by hundreds of billions? That, quite seriously, is the fatal flaw of the proposed health care overhaul. Medicare funding [which, in reality, isn't even enough to actually cover its costs (see, medicare's unfunded debt)] is a sacred cow in DC.

Second, the CBO's forecast is for ten years. TEN YEARS. Several of which are just about building a nest egg to cover start up costs on things like the public option. After that money is spent through, it won't take long for debt to start to accrue in the next decade and for prices, premiums, and the like to soar in costs.

Don't get me wrong. I support health care reform. I just think these bills aren't the answer. We're already broke. These bills will break us even more. Throw on top of that the extra money we will be spending on the troop build up in Afghanistan and it is a recipe for financial disaster.

The simple fact is that, even if the government can actually fix something that is broken, it first has to fix itself. Let's get our debt under control. Let's enact some entitlement reform and spending reform to put us back on some financially stable ground. Then, I'll gladly get behind health care reform. Until then, I'll just continue to proudly pay out of pocket for doctor's visits and continue to work out payment plans and continue paying my cheap catastrophic coverage in case I have to make use of hospital facilities. I mean, shit, they'll let you pay twenty bucks a week on thousands of dollars worth of debt without charging you interest. They aren't assholes and are actually a lot easier to deal with than insurance companies!