What will happen to health care...

...in America if the Democrats are unable to pass the reform bill? That was the question I asked at the end of my last post. Well, what do you think would happen?

Health care costs in America are the highest in the world and rising at an unsustainable rate. Would that trend magically reverse itself?

How about the 46 million Americans without insurance? Would that number go up, or down? Would more, or fewer, Americans declare bankruptcy each year because of health care bills? Would the number of Americans who die each year (45,000 in a recent study) from lack of health insurance go up, or down? How about the number of rescissions (people dropped by their insurance company when they get sick)? Would any of those trends magically reverse themselves?

And as Bob Hope would say, how about those insurance companies? Would they have more, or less, power over the consumer going forward? Do you think they would have more, or less, to say about the health care you receive? Remember, every time they pay a claim it's considered a "loss" to them.

What about the quality of health care in America? The U. S. is currently ranked 37th in the world by the World Health Organization. Would that ranking go up, or down?

I know what you're thinking: Sarah Palin and the Republicans will fix health care in America. Doh!