Will The Health Care Reform Bill Make It?

Last week the Senate Finance Committee gathered to start their debate on the Baucus Health Care Bill. The bill thought by most to be the major bill, up for health care reform. There are four more committees, I believe, which have to weigh in. This is the comittee that is thought to have the most clout in changing the system we now have.  The committee begin its session at the end of last week and so far they have voted on two of the five-hundred and sixty-four amendments, that are a part of the bill. They were not in session on Monday , in honor of the Jewish holiday. Tuesday,  they start up again with their delibertions.

If you watch any of the day’s meeting, you are struck by the fact that, and this has occured, the Republicans are putting up everything they can, to slow the process, muddle it or stop it altogether. One Republican suggested they post the entire bill on line for 72 hours so the public could have a chance to read it. Knowing full well that the language in the bill would require an attorney to decipher it and a lay person might still have a problem comprehending what the correct interpretation would be. Another Senator  makes a valid statement and an hour later or so, he repeats the same long statement and tells the committee he said the same thing previously. One other Senator sits in his chair and sleeps openly, while the cameras rolled.

At this rate, it will be amazing if a bill reaches the President’s desk before the end of the year. Delay and stall tactics are the motto of the Republicans. On the other side of the aisle, Senator Max Baucus, the author of the bil,l supposedidly with Senator Chuck Grassley, who is MIA on this bill, has put together a bill which the insurance companies are very, very happy about. What that means, is that the American people will be feeling the same shaft that has been in operation all along. Higher and higher insurance premiums with less and less quality of care, if the original version of this bill were to stand.

We keep looking for heroes, they are hard to find.  The public option is on the table when the session reopens on Tuesday. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York will be handling that portion, along with Senator John Rockefeller. The public option is a plan which would be offered to those without health care mainly, where the government would subsidize a portion of the cost for the consumer. There is much opposition  on the Republican side, reportedly and some on the Democrats side. Penalties would attach to anyone who did not have a health care policy, but it would be minimal or nil, if the family or person were of middle or low income status.  Medicare would remain the same, but cost cutting would be a major change. But everything is influx at the moment. The House of Representatives would then review the bill for reconciliation and it is there that analysts are saying the public option would have the best case for inclusion into the bill. The other committee bills would have to go through a similar process. Then it goes to the Presdident’s desk. That is a very long way off in the future. Hopefully the bill will be in a form that gives the American taxpayer, some needed relief from the burden of high health care cost in the future.