CommonCare: Medicare for the rest of us

Bill Maher was railing the other night at how bad Democrats are at naming things. "Single Payer" is about the least sexy name for a program ever, whereas "Death Panels" and "Pull the Plug on Granny" conjure immediate, visceral images that everyone understands. I was listening to a BBC program about African development, and someone being interviewed said something about the communal nature of African values, to explain how there is a different work ethic on the continent. :
Hence, CommonCare. It's got the ring of Meidcare, the most efficient and successful government program in US history, and it ultimately means what Single Payer ought to be called: Final Payer, meaning, ya'll go ahead and fuss around with all your complicated insurance plans and whatever, but anyone someone doesn't get the basics paid for through one of those schemes, it goes to the Final Payer, the "public option" [a close second for least sexy moniker] known as CommonCare.

It can even be bundled as part of immigration reform as a way to extend coverage to the undocumented: they can earn "points" towards status normalization by fulfilling Preventive Care requirements, and save money that otherwise goes to emergency room visits.