Calling Dr. Lowden …

Friday, April 23, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.

When the first report came in this month that Republican Senate hopeful Sue Lowden had touted the prospect of patients “bartering” with their doctors to receive affordable medical treatment, it sounded like something from a comedy skit on “Saturday Night Live.” But, truth be told, if one of the show’s writers had pitched such a skit to the producers, it would have been rejected on the spot because it would have been too over the top. Satire, after all, has to be grounded in reality.

But, sure enough, the report checked out. The video on YouTube told it all. In response to a question about health care reform at a candidates’ forum in Mesquite, Lowden mentioned the usual Republican talking point that increasing the amount allowed for health savings accounts would be something preferable to the recently passed health care legislation. But then came the jaw-dropping kicker from the candidate who wants to be the Republican nominee to square off against Democratic Sen. Harry Reid:

“And I would have suggested, and I think that bartering is really good. Those doctors who you pay cash, you can barter, and that would get prices down in a hurry. And I would say go out, go ahead out and pay cash for whatever your medical needs are, and go ahead and barter with your doctor.”

It didn’t take long for late-night comedian Jay Leno to mock Lowden’s answer to health care reform, and shortly thereafter a staffer with the Nevada Democratic Party showed up at Lowden’s campaign headquarters with a goat and four chickens, demonstrating the absurdity of how Lowden’s bartering system would work.

Despite the mounting ridicule, the front-runner for the Senate GOP nomination offered a robust defense Monday. Here is what the wealthy casino owner had to say on the Reno “Nevada Newsmakers” television show:

“You know, before we all started having health care, in the olden days our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor, they would say I’ll paint your house. … That’s the old days of what people would do to get health care with your doctors. Doctors are very sympathetic people. I’m not backing down from that system.”

So Lowden would like to see patients haul along their livestock, baseball card collections, silverware, etc., into overcrowded waiting rooms in doctors’ offices in Nevada? And then, once finally getting in to see their physician, they would negotiate with him over how many chickens it would take to get a consultation? Is Lowden the only Nevadan who doesn’t realize we’re living in the 21st century? Is she that out of touch with everyday Nevadans, not to mention the health care system, which doesn’t take chickens for co-pays? Or perhaps she believes we should barter for our premiums. Would insurance companies become pawn shops?

This is much more than simply political grist for late-night comics. The fact is that Republicans in the House and Senate never had any intention of engaging in an honest dialogue about how to improve the delivery of health care in this country. Additionally, GOP senators were too busy taking partisan potshots at Reid, hoping to weaken him in the November election.

That meant the heavy lifting fell to Reid, the Senate majority leader, to secure passage of the most sweeping health care legislation since Medicare. He knows the issues and just how complex medical care has become. More important, he understands the anguish and pain that millions of Americans have suffered because they don’t have health insurance. Reid’s leadership also was instrumental in providing protections from abusive practices of insurers for those who have coverage.

In contrast to Reid’s thoughtfulness, Lowden actually believes that bartering is an option to lower medical care costs. But that is what passes for seriousness in today’s unserious Republican Party, which, if left to its own devices, would have left millions of Americans uninsured and millions more at the whims of the insurance companies. And that is no joking matter.