Wyden offers to work with Bush; Pearlstein breaks down health care costs

Senator Ron Wyden (D, OR) yesterday offered a six-point proposal to President Bush about making health care affordable for all Americans, in collaboration with a bipartisan group of nine other senators - not including Obama or Clinton. It's a general outline, vague even, but does promote preventive care and tax restructuring, and follows upon his Healthy Americans Act, rolled out on Dec. 13.

Others might argue that it's hard to get a strong, bipartisan statement in favor of universal health care (Bush's tax proposal not withstanding), but I posit that lowering the cost of health care is something every American should support. Check out Steve Pearlstein's column in today's Washington Post; doctors may wince at the implication that much of the cost of the current system allows them to line their own pockets, but they need to hear it, and everyone should have a grasp of the rest of the breakdown of costs Pearlstein presents, all of which can - and must - be addressed.