Healthscare 2009
Dec/17/09 10:42 AM
First off, apologies for taking some time off from blogging. I finished up final exams yesterday. One more semester to go.
Anyways, it’s looking more and more like the Senate will be unable to pass their version of the health care bill before the Christmas deadline. Now isn’t that a little Christmas miracle. This bill is wrong for America from so many angles and it is completely irresponsible for Congress to try to force it down our throats in such a short period of time.
Recent polling indicates that more American voters believe that they would be better off with the health care system as-is rather than any of the plans being pushed by the House, Senate, or the White House. No one, from the Congressional Budget Office to the Democratic leadership, seems to be able to put a finger on just how many trillions of dollars this monster will cost future generations of Americans. No one seems to agree on how Obamacare will affect the premiums and coverage of the 85% of Americans who currently have health insurance. What about seniors? Will their Medicare benefits be trimmed in the name of “cost savings”? And how about that public option? Will the best doctors and hospitals opt out from government funded medical plans?
Question after question abounds. Given these uncertainties, why are the Democrats wheeling and dealing behind closed doors each day with lobbyists and power brokers downtown to move on this bill before the Christmas break? Are they really that politically selfish that they would force through a hastily made stack of papers affecting each and every American without forming some sort of broader consensus among voters, doctors, businesses, and the like?
Even from a political standpoint, how can liberal politicians pat themselves on the back (or give themselves B+’s) and tell their liberal supporters with a straight face that they are satisfied enough with the bill to cast a historic vote in its favor? The bill, now basically stripped naked, doesn’t include a public option, doesn’t include a single-payer system, doesn’t extend Medicare to 55 year olds, and certainly doesn’t cover a majority of the currently uninsured.
And yet, Congress has its eyes fixed on that December 25th date. Despite all the red flags screaming like an injured hospital patient, Reid and Pelosi will push onwards.
Now isn’t that leadership...
Anyways, it’s looking more and more like the Senate will be unable to pass their version of the health care bill before the Christmas deadline. Now isn’t that a little Christmas miracle. This bill is wrong for America from so many angles and it is completely irresponsible for Congress to try to force it down our throats in such a short period of time.
Recent polling indicates that more American voters believe that they would be better off with the health care system as-is rather than any of the plans being pushed by the House, Senate, or the White House. No one, from the Congressional Budget Office to the Democratic leadership, seems to be able to put a finger on just how many trillions of dollars this monster will cost future generations of Americans. No one seems to agree on how Obamacare will affect the premiums and coverage of the 85% of Americans who currently have health insurance. What about seniors? Will their Medicare benefits be trimmed in the name of “cost savings”? And how about that public option? Will the best doctors and hospitals opt out from government funded medical plans?
Question after question abounds. Given these uncertainties, why are the Democrats wheeling and dealing behind closed doors each day with lobbyists and power brokers downtown to move on this bill before the Christmas break? Are they really that politically selfish that they would force through a hastily made stack of papers affecting each and every American without forming some sort of broader consensus among voters, doctors, businesses, and the like?
Even from a political standpoint, how can liberal politicians pat themselves on the back (or give themselves B+’s) and tell their liberal supporters with a straight face that they are satisfied enough with the bill to cast a historic vote in its favor? The bill, now basically stripped naked, doesn’t include a public option, doesn’t include a single-payer system, doesn’t extend Medicare to 55 year olds, and certainly doesn’t cover a majority of the currently uninsured.
And yet, Congress has its eyes fixed on that December 25th date. Despite all the red flags screaming like an injured hospital patient, Reid and Pelosi will push onwards.
Now isn’t that leadership...
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