GOP Opposition to Universal Health Coverage Loses Another Dumb Argument.

Uh oh! Republicans have suddenly realized that they have been paying a “hidden tax,” and footing the bill for “lazy health care freeloaders,” for years without even knowing it. That’s right, “HIDDEN TAXES.”

Conservatives have argued for years that socialized medicine would force them to pay for someone else’s health care insurance. It is a patently silly idea, but that’s their story, and now I’m wondering if they’re sticking to it.

AP-The average family with health insurance shells out an extra $1,000 a year in premiums to pay for health care for the uninsured, a new report finds. And the average individual with private coverage pays an extra $370 a year because of the cost-shifting, which happens when someone without medical insurance gets care at an emergency room or elsewhere and then doesn't pay.

Families USA calls it a "hidden tax." Families USA contracted with the independent actuarial consulting firm Milliman Inc. to analyze federal data to produce the findings.

"As more people join the ranks of the uninsured, the hidden health tax is growing," said Ron Pollack, Families USA executive director. "That tax hits America's businesses and insured families hard in the pocketbook, and they therefore have a clear financial stake in expanding health care coverage."

The report found that, in 2008, uninsured people received $116 billion in health care. ... (Part of) that sum made its way into premiums charged by private insurance companies to businesses and individuals, the report said. Ronald A. Williams, chairman and chief executive of Aetna Inc. said, “You're paying for your own care as well as for the care of some of the uninsured in the community."

Hello…do you get it now?