"Quite possibly the crappiest NYTimes column for Obamacare ever"
"How crappy is this piece? Let us count the ways:
1) Crappy journalism. Read through the column and you won't find a single doctor, hospital official, or Oregon Medicaid official quoted.
As for why Brodniak hasn't been able to get the surgery he says he needs, all we have is this:
John says the principal obstacle to treatment appears to be simply his lack of insurance.
And why won't any doctor do the surgery? All we have is what Brodniak told Kristof:
In August, he qualified for an Oregon Medicaid program, but he hasn't been able to find a doctor who will accept him as a patient for surgery, apparently because the reimbursements are so low.
2) Crappy emotionalism. The column leaves the tear-jerking impression that Brodniak is just inches away from dying for lack of health insurance and that he is a shining example of why, in Kristof's words, "universal coverage" is so "urgent."
But, um, Kristof himself reports an inconvenient fact in his overwrought column: Brodniak has government health insurance!
So, the problem isn't the absence of a government-run safety net. The problem is apparently too-low reimbursements in his case.
And Kristof apparently is too busy gnashing his teeth about heartless politicians and greedy doctors to think about what Obamacare would actually do to solve what he and Brodniak assert is the underlying problem.
3) Crappy follow-up. Kristof leaves the distinct and dire impression that Brodniak's wife and children were also cruelly left out in the cold and that only "universal coverage" can save them all!"
There is more at: michellemalkin.com
