Bartiromo Asks 44 y/o Congressman "If Medicare's So Good, Why Aren't You On It?!"

[RedEarth]

TPMDC

Health Care
Bartiromo Asks 44 y/o Congressman "If Medicare's So Good, Why Aren't You On It?!"
Brian Beutler | September 1, 2009, 3:36PM

And you wonder why people are confused about the health care debate


What's particularly striking about this exchange is that, when offered the most clear and concise possible explanation for why 44-year old Anthony Weiner isn't on a government plan that's only open to people aged 65 and over, she just whoops it up as if she's caught him in some sort of damning contradiction.

Obviously, the real punchline is that many of the people criticizing the Democrats' health care plan don't have the foggiest idea how any of it works. And Bartiromo in particular reveals--however inadvertently--that she thinks elements of the proposal make perfect sense. Yes, she's wrong to assume Weiner could buy into Medicare, and she's wrong to assume that he chooses not to because the coverage is sub-par. But ironically, the idea that Weiner should be able to buy into Medicare seems totally uncontroversial to her. And that, of course, is the whole point of the public option

..video here

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/bartiromo-asks-44-year-old-congressman-if-medicares-so-good-why-arent-you-on-it.php

[blogslut]

1. At least she's pretty

:hi:

[kysrsoze]

2. That's b/c she, and all the other market suckups on CNBC are complete morons

I find that these idiots only know market movement information. Underneath it all, they haven't the foggiest concept of how/why everything works, which is why they're more often wrong than right. They're nothing but a bunch of cheerleaders for market indices and pump/dump specialists.

[n2doc]

3. She's a tool. Nothing more than a well-paid tool. n/t

[Eric J in MN]

4. She's also wrong about Erbitux.

http://www.pharmatimes.com/UKNews/article.aspx?id=16489

NICE issues final green light for Erbitux in colorectal cancer
27 August 2009

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has issued final guidance recommending the use of Merck KGaA’s cancer drug Erbitux on the National Health Service for patients with colorectal cancer.

Specifically, the cost regulator has given the green light for the use of the drug in combination with a chemotherapy regimen known as FOLFOX – 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and oxaliplatin - as a first-line weapon against the disease under the following conditions: the primary tumour has been resected or can be operated on; disease spread is confined to the liver and is inoperable; and the patient is well enough to undergo surgery to remove the primary tumour or the diseased part of the liver if this is possible following treatment.

In addition, the Institute has given the all clear for the drug’s use in combination with 5-FU, folinic acid and irinotecan (known as FOLFIRI) as a first-line defence when the above criteria are met, and the patient is unable to take oxaliplatin. NICE has also stipulated that patients in either subset should not be treated with the drug for more than 16 weeks.

Approval of the drug for use on the NHS was based upon a cost analysis that concluded it would be a cost-effective use of resources, taking into account clinical evidence showing its ability to significantly shrink tumours as well as a risk-sharing scheme proposed by Merck, under which it offers a 16% rebate to the health service on the cost of treatment per patient.

By Selina McKee