MORE HEALTH CARE GOOD NEWS

Ahhh ... the beauty of the Bush/Republican-led health care legislation ...

On Wal-Mart’s Web site, you can buy a walker for $59.92. It is called the Carex Explorer, and it’s a typical walker: a few feet high, with four metal poles extending to the ground. The Explorer is one of the walkers covered by Medicare.

But Medicare and its beneficiaries aren’t paying $59.92 for the Explorer or any similar walker ... They are paying about $110.

On the positive side, according to the NY Times, things are set to change on July 1. But guess who's fighting the changes? That's right. The equipment makers. They've stated publicly that "competitive bidding will, among other things, deprive some patients of oxygen equipment they need."

It kind of tugs at your heart, doesn't it?

I don't know, but it seems to me that "competitive bidding" has also been depriving me of some of the gasoline I need. Do you think Congress will do anything about subsidizing my petro purchases?

- Mark