McCain health care advisor doesn't believe in uninsured

First, McCain advisor Phil Gramm called us a bunch of whiners and said, regarding the economy, that we were in a recession of the mind. Now, McCain's health care advisor, John Goodman, has come up with a plan to deal with the uninsured.

So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured.

The context here is that Goodman believes that since emergency rooms can't turn away people who need treatment, that this is a form of insurance. Under Goodman's logic, John McCain can claim we already have universal health care, though we all know this is far from the truth.

The solution to the problem is not to "disappear" people from official government reports. The solution is to find a way to ensure all Americans have access to affordable, quality health-care. And though emergency rooms may provide high quality care, they are not in the business of preventative care. In the long run, the cost of treating a serious illness or injury at an emergency room is much higher than giving a patient access to preventative care.

Emergency rooms aren't insurance for the poor, they're for use in an emergency. I can only hope that the John Goodman who is promoting this logic to John McCain is the comedian and not a bonafide policy advisor. Regardless, that McCain is taking this advice seriously, shows that we're looking at more of the same if McCain is elected President.