Health care brought to you by the same people...

Maybe banks should fail, even the big ones. That's the line many in the GOP are now proclaiming, as reported on the NPR show Marketplace today. I've got an immediate problem with that -- the GOP has lied to me so often and so consistently I can only assume they are doing it again. Perhaps to put it another way, I can only assume their hatred for Obama is so intense they are proposing ideas to make the economic situation worse.

Though my rant today isn't about banks, it is about GOP and believability. There is a group called Conservatives for Patients Rights, ready to torpedo any health plan Obama and the Dems may come up with. They even base it on four goals that sound reasonable, but easily tipped over.

1. Every patient has a right to choose a doctor and an insurance plan that fits their budget.

When you don't have health care -- an increasing problem these days -- you can't choose a doctor anyway. And the GOP has said nothing about addressing the needs of the uninsured.

2. Use marketplace competition to drive down costs and enhance outcomes.

Nice idea, in theory. But there are so few players competition is a myth. Only a public system would offer any competition. In addition, existing companies declare so much information to be proprietary there is no way to find out which one has better outcomes for any given medical situation or how much of any given procedure is covered.

3. Make health care more accessible, transparent, and standardized.

Yeah, there are things that would help improve health care, such as electronic medical forms, but this goal says nothing about making health care insurance more accessible, transparent, and standardized. Far too often patients hear, "Sure, you can get the care you need. We're just not going to cover it." And it is different with each company.

4. Patients need to take personal responsibility for their care, including maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so that they have the freedom to live without government intrusion.

Sounds good -- only if you make it a two-way street and demand corporate responsibility of the insurer. Otherwise this goal and the other three are as hollow as the conservative principles that have led to disasters in foreign policy, food safety, and finance. A health care system brought to you by the same people and ideals that brought you Citibank? Shiver.

My choice would be Medicare for All.