Health Care Reform Rhetoric vs. Reality....

From the NY Post:

Rhetoric: The president insisted in his news conference last night that "the bill I sign must also slow the growth of health-care costs in the long run."

Reality: Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad asked the man who is the top authority on the subject -- Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf -- if the bills before Congress would "bend the long-term cost curve" in health care.

"No, Mr. Chairman," Elmendorf said, adding, "the legislation significantly expands" health costs.

Strike one.

Rhetoric: Obama said last night his plan "will keep government out of health-care decisions, giving you the option to keep your insurance if you're happy with it."

Reality: The Lewin Group, a respected economics-consulting firm, estimates in a new study for The Heritage Foundation that more than 80 million people would lose the coverage they have today if the Obama plan is implemented.

Strike two.

Rhetoric: President Obama has traveled the country extolling the virtues of the Mayo Clinic and other integrated health systems, saying they offer "the highest quality care at costs well below the national norm" and should be a model for the nation.

Reality: The Mayo Clinic and 12 other top health-care-delivery outlets just sent Congress a letter, warning that the bill that already has passed two committees in the House would put them out of business.

If the government creates its own health-insurance plan paying at Medicare rates, as the administration and Congress propose, the organizations say the result will be "unsustainable for even the nation's most efficient, high-quality providers, eventually driving them out of the market."

Strike three.