So, what’s new in health care reform?

After weeks of secretive talks, a bipartisan group in the Senate edged closer Monday to a health care compromise that omits two key Democratic priorities but incorporates provisions to slow the explosive rise in medical costs, officials said.

These officials said participants were on track to exclude a requirement many congressional Democrats seek for businesses to offer coverage to their workers. Nor would there be a provision for a government insurance option.

Individuals would have a mandate to buy affordable insurance.

Let’s see if I have this straight…

Businesses won’t be required to provide insurance, there won’t be an affordable public option, there’s bunches of stuff to make things better for people who do have insurance, and oh yeah … we are going to require everyone to buy insurance. Well, doesn’t that sound like a winning plan? Now if someone could explain to me how this is going to help get insurance to the uninsured and better insurance to the under-insured, I’d really appreciate it.

So I guess I will continue to live my life without health insurance (and essentially without health care), but that mandate telling me I have to buy insurance has a monetary punishment attached to it, which means I’ll get to pay the government to not have health insurance (or get health care) … because, as always, we make too little to pay for more insurance (or doctor visits) but too much to use any of the current “public” options. Just freaking peachy.