Anthem Blue Cross jacks up rates while Dems dicker over healthcare reform

When you hear cable news people talking about why the Democrats ought to pass health care reform -- and fast -- it's generally all about political calculations. The president, they say, will suffer the same fate as Bill Clinton in 1994 if he doesn't pass health care. The congressional election will be a bloodbath for Democrats, they say. Republicans will crow about President Obama's "Waterloo" and proclaim it the end of his presidency, they say. And then they quickly move on to a very serious investigation of the John Edwards sex tape.

To whatever extent that can be considered journalism, God's speed, cable news people. The real world implications of not passing health care reform, however, are considerably more hazardous.