Health Care Examined, Woody Woo-Style

One week after the health care jump, and the Tea Partiers are all busy rallying their troops (to the extent that Obama publicly acknowledged the movement in an interview on the Today Show this morning).  As the rumors fly and rallying cries are shouted, it's a relief to find a writer who outlines what the new health care actually does in a clear way.Enter Uwe Reinhardt, Woodrow Wilson's James Madison Professor of Political Economy. Reinhardt's specialty is Health Care policy, and as such, he's been everywhere this past week.  His most recent post on the NYTimes's Economix blog (a site which is meant to "explain the science of everyday life") helps demystify the process a great deal: read it here.In a recent interview with Ezra Klein over at the Washington Post, Reinhardt compared the health care reform process to the belabored process of home-improvement:

It’s a bit like moving into a house. You’ll spend another half year having workmen come fix the house. The individual mandate, for instance, is not good enough. You could still have young people pay the fine, and you’ll get the death spiral. I think they should have a window, if you enroll now, you’re in the club. But if you don’t enroll now, if you decide to play the adverse risk selection game, then if you try to reenroll, you can be discriminated against for health status.

If you're looking for trendier take on the bill (albeit a less tiger-toned one), check out this great new article from Paste Magazine, which has indie rockers from groups like OK Go and Death Cab for Cutie weigh in on the bill's ramifications. Read on, Tigers!