Senate Health Care Bill: Reader Beware

If you really want to ruin your day, try reading and comprehending the health care bill, which I did Tuesday and much of Wednesday.

I managed to slog my way through the first 476 pages of the 2,076 page bill and found it more painful than sitting through a presentation from the Defense Department's Business Transformation Agency, a truly mind-numbing experience.

The bill is written in verbiage that bares only a passing resemblance to English, and in fact makes it clear that English should not be used to explain health insurance plans to the masses.

Instead of English, the bill said health plans should be explained in "culturally and linguistically appropriate manner and utilizes terminology understandable by the average plan enrollee."

Does anyone know what this means?

I have no doubt that the health care system in this country needs some fixing, as I just received a $1,371 bill for a hospital emergency room visit for a sprained ankle, which took about a half hour.

But if a better than average reader (and I'm a really good reader) can't begin to comprehend the legislation, it's time to deep six the bill.