Sunday, November 08, 2009

Sweeping Health Care Plan Passes House.

After all the shit that's been thrown at it, this feels very, very sweet.

After a daylong clash with Republicans over what has been a Democratic goal for decades, lawmakers voted 220 to 215 to approve a plan that would cost $1.1 trillion over 10 years and that Democrats said would provide relief to Americans struggling to buy or hold on to health insurance.

“This is our moment to revolutionize health care in this country,” said Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and one of the chief architects of the bill.

Democrats were forced to make major concessions on insurance coverage for abortions to attract the final votes to secure passage, a wrenching compromise for the numerous abortion-rights advocates in their ranks. They hope to make changes to that amendment during negotiations with the Senate, which will now become the main battleground in the health care fight as Democrats there ready their own bill for what is likely to be extensive floor debate.

Only one Republican voted for the bill, and 39 Democrats opposed it, which I honestly feel will be something which they have done to their eternal shame.

During the private meeting with Democrats in the Cannon Caucus Room, the president acknowledged the political difficulty of supporting major legislation in the face of unanimous Republican opposition and tough criticism from conservatives.

But, those present said, he urged them on, saying, “When I sign this in the Rose Garden, each and every one of you will be able to look back and say, ‘This was my finest moment in politics.’ ”

Obama is getting nearer to achieving this than any previous president. We all know why the Republicans oppose this bill, it is because it undermines their belief that big government is useless.

If Obama succeeds in getting this bill passed, then he destroys forever that central plank in Republican philosophy, which states that government should get out of the way, that big government is automatically bad, and he will have established the notion that people as a collective can do things for each other cheaper and better than private insurance companies.

More importantly, he will have overturned a healthcare system which resembles the one we all remember from Dickensian London, where one's right to health care is based not on need, but on one's ability to pay.

This is the one area where the US has ranked behind the rest of the world. They have been paying more than any other nation on Earth for a healthcare system ranked 37th in the world by the World Health Organisation.

Obama has moved a step closer to ending that.

The paucity of the Republican argument was best summarised by this guy:



He decided to make the argument of "what Maddie wants". He's obviously oblivious to the fact that Maddie doesn't know what she wants, as she's still of an age when she shits in her own diaper.

But that's how pathetic the Republican argument now is, Shadegg is reduced to putting his own words into the mouth of an infant. It's beyond shameless...

Click here for full article.

4 comments:

Steel Phoenix said...

What is it in this bill that you like? I haven't looked at it for a while, but last I checked, all the goodness had been sucked out of it and replaced with corporate welfare.

There comes a point where a victory is hollow, and then it gets worse.

Kel said...

Well, it extends coverage to 96% of the nation and it includes the public option. It makes it illegal for health insurance companies to deny treatment for pre-existing medical conditions, or to drop coverage when a customer falls ill. Insurance companies will also no longer be exempt from "anti-trust" laws, so they won't be able to fix prices with immunity.

What pleases me most, though, is simply the fact that a public option has been established. There is much that can be improved, but establishing healthcare as a human right is massive in my opinion.

Obviously, it's still got to get through the Senate, but Obama has done well to get it this far.

Steel Phoenix said...

Interesting. I don't like most of that, but as you say, the public option is what counts. I do expect this to kill the insurance industry, but it is one I can live without.

I guess I'm going to have to read it again. I don't see how I can afford it if there is any sort of mandate in there. I'm right on that line of making too much money to qualify for assistance, but with 4/5 of my income going into mortgage and utilities and the rest into food, I certainly can't afford health insurance.

It's hard to trust the government when even while the economy crumbles, the average federal employee wages and benefits average double those of private industry.

Kel said...

I guess I'm going to have to read it again. I don't see how I can afford it if there is any sort of mandate in there. I'm right on that line of making too much money to qualify for assistance, but with 4/5 of my income going into mortgage and utilities and the rest into food, I certainly can't afford health insurance.

SP, I have American friends and I am genuinely appalled at how much of their monthly income goes on health insurance, so I do see your point. Worse still, they pay thousands each month and still don't know if the insurance company will even treat them when they get ill or whether they will try to squirm out of it using some feeble excuse.

This bill at least addresses that.

And I think you are right, I think the death knell for the insurance companies is within this bill. And that alone would be a great thing.