A Maryland Perspective

George W. Bush wants to cut $60 Billion from Medicaid. This will amount to $623 Million that does not go to the the State of Maryland over 10 years.
$62 Million a year

Currently, the Cost of War calculator is set to reach $152 billion at the end of January 2005 and continue to advance at $6 billion per month..... The amount is based on the National Priorities Project analysis of what Congress has allocated for the Iraq War. $72,000 Million a year. Maryland has 1.9% of the population so this is:
$2,500 Million a year from Maryland for the War

Medical Mutual, the company that insures most of the physicians in Maryland, reports that:
In 2002, the total annual amount paid by MEDICAL MUTUAL on claims, including paid defense costs, was $56 million. This number soared to $93.2 million in 2003.
$56-93 Million

Let's see, let me get out my calculator:
The cost of the War That Will Never End is about 40 times the amount that docs pay out for malpractice claims which is equal to what Bush is going to cut from Medicaid.

Damn.

For those you you who are not following Maryland politics, the governor called a special session of the Legislature to deal with the malpractice crisis in the week after Christmas. After finally hammering out a bill, the governor, Bob Ehrlich, vetoed it. The veto was overridden but, to date, they haven't changed a thing. (I just got my malpractice insurance bill and it is exactly the same as the one I got in December.)