Amazon: 101Ways to Save Money on Health Care.

BusinessWeek: U.S. spending on health-care slowed in 2008, and health-care spending grew faster than the national economy. I've seen both spins on this story. Spending grew but it grew more slowly than before. Whatever, I know my health-care spending was up in 2009.

Mona Charen on the health care bill: "In short, Democrats have done the maximum amount of damage to our system that they could manage under the circumstances."

Who's out of step?

AP Report: "Senate moderates on Sunday threatened to scuttle the health care bill if their demands weren't met, frustrating rank-and-file Democrats who say their colleagues' views were out of step with Americn voters."

Brian Walsh and Hans Spakovsky: The PelosiCare bill will criminalize health care freedom.

Who will be included among those subject to civil and criminal penalties if this provision becomes law? For starters, any family of four whose combined income in 2016 is above $102,100 ($88,200 in today's dollars) and that chooses to pay all its medical expenses out of pocket rather than pay the $15,000 a year that the CBO says will be the lowest-priced insurance option for families. Also any healthy twentysomething in a city with high costs of living who chooses to take the risk of going uninsured.

CMS report: House bill will raise health-care costs $289 billion over the next decade. CMS stands for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service.

Mike Ross (D-AR), leader of the Blue Dogs, spoke to a business group Monday and make several comments on health care. He said, "I cannot support a public option, because I came home, I listened to the people, and I can tell you people made it clear to me they don't want the government in the health-insurance business." Left-wingers are not happy with him (see here) and claim he is obligated to the health insurance industry. Ross said that less than half of one percent of his donations have come from this source. Yes, but that is still suspicious to me. Many politicians like to site a percentage, but a low percentage may mask quite a large number of dollars. Still, he is taking heat from both sides.

He was disingenuous in other ways too. He said we are paying for the uninsured now and that health-care rationing is going on now. Both contain an element of truth, but overstated. We are probably not seeing anything like we will see under Obamacare. Many people won't see a doctor unless it's an emergency. I used to be like that.

Arkansas TV ads

According to this AP report, a liberal group in favor of Obamacare will run TV ads in Arkansas next week criticizing Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Rep. Mike Ross. See this link. The ad charges that Lincoln and Ross favor the insurance industry.

Jennifer Rubin on recent polls: "All in all it is a stunning repudiation of the president’s health-care vision. Moreover, it makes one point crystal clear to lawmakers: they are much better off voting for nothing than voting for a bad bill that contains elements voters dislike and increases the deficit. And that is the last thing Obama wants lawmakers to figure out."

Rasmussen: 56 percent of voters nationwide now oppose health-care reform.

Jonah Goldberg has an article on the racism issue that has arisen in the health care debate. Some people just can't see that other people are less hung up on racism than they are.

Read the bill, Mr. President

Eric Cantor (R-Va): "The notion that health-care reform has foundered because of Republicans is flatly false. Some of President Obama’s most ardent critics are moderate Democrats. The president would be better served by taking a closer look at the content of the bill and by starting to work with Republicans to find solutions that are more acceptable to the American people. He may not get another chance."

Betsy's Page explains why Americans don't trust Obama's plans for health care reform, with help from George Will and Thomas Sowell.

Dick Morris: "The president’s plan is, essentially, a program to take medical care away from the elderly and give it to those who are not younger, healthier, and - in the main - richer."

Robert Tracinski provides another analysis of the contradicions in Obama's health care speech. He says, "... what Obama's supposed gift for rhetoric amounts to: the ability to tell a smoothly polished bald-faced lie." Call Joe.

Mark Steyn predicts that the Democrats will ram through some kind of health reform legislation. They have learned nothing from recent town hall meetings. The long term consequences will be disastrous.

Fact check

Obama: Health care proposals "would not apply to those who are here illegally." Joe Wilson: "You lie!" Who is telling the truth?

The House version of the health-care bill explicitly prohibits illegal aliens from getting health-care assistance. The bill reads, "Nothing in this subtitle shall allow federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully in the United States." But is this prohibition enough? How will it be enforced? There is in fact no requirement that anyone verify their legal status.

An article making these points appeared in the ADG this morning. CBS News has conceded that Wilson has a valid point. Indeed, Democrats have explicitly rejected any means to enforce the prohibition.

Michael Barone: "There is an element of convenient fantasy as well in Obama's health care statements to date. We are going to save money by spending money. We are going to solve our fiscal problems with a program that will increase the national debt by $1 trillion over a decade. We are going to guarantee you can keep your current insurance with a bill that encourages your employer to stop offering it.

"The list goes on. We are going to improve health care for seniors by cutting $500 billion from Medicare. We aren't going to insure illegal aliens, except that we won't have any verification provisions to see that they can't apply and get benefits."

According to this AP report. Mike Ross (D-AR) has changed his mind and will opposed a government-run public option if it's in the final bill. He apparently listened to his constituents at recent town hall meetings.

Steny Hoyer, House Majority Leader, is also waffling on the public option.

UPDATE: The ADG has the report on Wednesday morning. The entire Arkansas congressional delegation is making noises against the public option but probably only because they no longer believe it can pass.

Rasmussen: 83 percent say that proof of citizenship should be required to get government health aid.

Donald Lambro has a good summary of the health care controversy at this point.