Health Care Reform Bill
So where are we, and President Obama, and the US Congress, on the health reform bill? I guess it is true that in order to understand the present, we have to take a look at the past. Right now, the whole health care reform thing seems pretty hard to understand no matter what we know, but let’s take a step back anyway.
Health Reform Ideas Are Not New
The idea of health reform is not new. In fact, FDR hoped to include some sort of national health care in social security legislation way back in 1935. The next president, Harry Truman, had hoped to create a national fund that we would all pay into that would provide the money for his program. That did not work out, but since that time, every Democratic president, and quite a few Republican presidents, have tried to provide affordable health coverage to more Americans.
A Quick History of US Health Reform
Progress has been made. We do have a national health care program for senior citizens and retired people. This is, of course, Medicare. Even though it seems like it is an American institution, and has been the model for other nations, Medicare has only been around since the early 1960′s. And you may be surprised to know that it passed after a lot of heated debate and the predicted ruin of American medicine. We also have Medicaid and CHIPS, which are state and federal efforts to cover people and families with lower incomes.
Since then, President Bill Clinton tried and failed to pass a comprehensive health reform bill. This bill was used by Republicans to attack the Democrats, and many credit it with a lot of conservative wins in congress at that time.
Health Reform in the USA Today
However, times have changed. Right now, employers and business groups are really concerned about the rising costs of health care coverage. They are actualy advocating for change. In addition, health insurance companies have said they will accept reform, but just want to be included in the discussion. Once the public option was brought up, the health insurance companies have not been as cooperative as we might hope. But, at least, they said they would try.
The House and Senate came up with their own versions of a health care reform bill, but never seemed to be able to cooperate enough to turn one into law. Meawhile, pundits on both sides of the issue are getting a lot of press time on TV.
March, 2010 Health Reform Update
On March 3rd, 2010, President Obama announced that he expected Democratic congress people to get in line behind him, no matter how concerned they were about their chances for being elected again.
Here is the latest update from the New York Times:
In a letter to Congressional leaders sent March 2, Mr. Obama said he was open to pursuing four specific ideas raised by Republicans during the Blair House forum, including establishing “health courts” to resolve medical malpractice claims and encouraging the use by individuals of tax-advantaged medical savings accounts.
But even as Mr. Obama sent the letter, his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and top health policy adviser, Nancy Ann DeParle, went to Capitol Hill to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and prepare a final legislative package that they would be able to pass with simple majorities in each house, using a parliamentary tactic known as reconciliation to avoid a Republican filibuster.
So what do you think the solution is? Almost everybody agrees we need US health reform, but nobody seems to be able to agree on how we should accomplish this. Feel free to register for free and comment!
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