Operation Successful on House Health Care Bill

After all the partisanship and shouting of the last few weeks, it was time for Congress to vote on a possibly transforming health care bill that President Barack Obama has been pushing for ever since he took office.  The House of Representatives was up first, and their bill passed 220-215 Saturday night.

The House bill, which was supported by everybody except most Republicans and conservative Democrats, has the following main provisions, which would cost over a trillion dollars:

• It requires everyone to have insurance and most businesses to offer policies to its employees.
• Bans insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
• Expands Medicare
• Creates a government-run insurance program, also known as the public option.

Republicans, who have yet to come up with an alternative plan that doesn't benefit their buddies in Big Medicine at the expense of their constituents, have been terrified at the thought of a public option, which might someday lead to a single-payer system.  They claim it's the end of freedom as we know it, reducing us to the level of  . . . Canadians.  Where's George Washington when you really need him?

That same attitude has spilled over into protest rallies outside the U.S. Capitol.  Egged on by people such as representatives Michele Bachmann of Minnesota  (a one-woman freak show in her own right) and Joe Wilson of South Carolina (of "You lie!" fame), events like this one degenerate into name calling and racist posters of President Obama.  If nothing else, it makes for pretty good TV.

The message that tends to get lost amidst all the ugliness is that these people like their health care coverage the way it is, and they don't want Congress to change it.  That's great.  But what if you lose your job (the unemployment rate now stands at ten percent) and you have a major health care crisis that ends up cleaning out your savings?

This isn't a done deal by any means.  Once the Senate gets through with its version (which does not include the public option), negotiations to reach agreement on what will be in the final bill should begin.  If it's defeated, then it's right back to square one.

One problem with all the health care bills is that, if one is passed, it would not take effect until 2013.  What's to stop the insurance and pharmaceutical companies from taking advantage of that time lag to jack up rates to make up for the potential lost revenue?  The message for everyone seems to be, don't get sick in the next three years.

No matter what happens, though, there's more progress now on health care reform than at any time in the last 60 years.  We should be feeling better about that.