Lives in the balance. Every second of every day. Let's have some unity on DU.

After listening to a lil' Ted Kennedy commentary from way back, I realize we must learn from mistakes. Teddy had wished he had advanced health care back in the early 70's with Nixon, but didn't like what was going to get accomplished, enough, so here we are still today with true reform.

Despite my frustration with the current administration, I believe we need to make whatever changes to the health care system that they can accomplish - and I mean just that - whatever they can get done.

I truly respect, more than anyone, Howard Dean, and Dennis Kucinich and all the others who are trying to make this bill as good as possible - they must continue to do what they can to help because it's because of their actions over the years that we're where we're at, along with the great former senator from Massachusetts, but, we must grasp the change this spring that we can take before the election cycle kicks up.

I know not everyone will make the unifying attempt, but our tent is much more open-minded than the GOPers, and they are not as strong as we are as a whole. We have too many millions suffering in their homes, rehab facilities, ER's, doctor offices and inpatient hospitals right now as you read this.

I support a passed bill at this time in history. Let's take it!

GObama, Go Congress! Start here and go forward.

But we need to take this opportunity to do it right. If we pass a bill with no cost control measures and no public option than it will be an Orwellian delusion whereby corporate wealthfare for the insurance industry will be called healthcare reform.

It is unacceptable.

If we are going to do it as part of the budget and use that process to avoid Republican fillibuster. If we are going to pass it without the republicans then let us make it a bill truer to the Democratic party and park it halfway between the progressive liberals on the Left and the supposed centrists.

and NO COST CONTROLS on what the health insurance corporations can charge
us for premiums?

Sure they can't refuse pre-conditions, and that is very good, but the
for profit corporations will just pass on that additional cost to the rest
of their policy holders.

There is zero restriction on profits, monthly premiums, bonuses to top
executives etc.

Let us do it RIGHT!

My point is NOT to stop the 30 million from having health insurance.
My point IS to bring down costs for the other 280 million with health insurance.
I don't see any cost controls in the current bills.

However the for profit insurance companies will be richly rewarded by mandates
and guaranteed 30 million more customers, because there is no restriction on how
high they can raise the premiums.

I just dont believe that we should pass it now and HOPE to fix it later. I dont think that they would ever get around to fixing it later.

If we accept and pass it as is, we are shouldered with mandates and other provisions that no one likes in exchange for the hope that someday down the line, the administration will get it fixed before it hurts us. I'm not willing to support it at that cost.

The repukes will run against Obama based on the HCR, if he gets it passed, they'll run against the fear that Dr.'s will be made to perform abortions on every pregnant woman and that the old will be subject to death panels. If it fails to pass, the pukes will run against Obama failing to get anything done. It's a lose- lose without the public option.

great positive change for the many issues the bill addresses? I think we need to do this in short time. Sen. Bill Nelson has said he is in support of the Public Option, he makes 41, so because he's such a centrist, and says yes now, it is possible we're going to get it. But, all the things in the bill that are helpful should not be lost. I am accepting of that, I realize there are many differing views and I know, just from watching the recs go up and then down, that opinions are strong. I just believe the positive change is not to be ignored. I agree with you essentially that the PO is very important.

I'd rather things stay the same. I say this as a guy with no insurance who has watched two family members be dumped form insurance companies.

I think they're doing all the work they can to get people on board with the PO as they can.
If they don't get the PO done in a month, I think they'll pass what they can get then. So good to see FL senator Nelson say yes to the PO.

it fails. Let's face it, Rethugs will make anything negative so that is a moot point.

such whiners.

I can see the commercials already.... "Because of tax and spend Libruls, you now have to pay thousands of dollars to an insurance company. Vote Republican !1!!!1!"

If we passed an actual REFORM bill, they would look pretty fucking silly campaigning against that. And I believe the DLC recognized that reality, and could not allow real reform for exactly that reason. It's a lot harder for fake "Democrats" to maintain their cover when there's a supposed "Democratic" majority, because they can't blame the admitted Republicans for nothing getting done.

How condescending that sounds to people like Dean who truly wanted real health care.

Just like with the dismantling of education, it is just about too late for it to matter what we do or say.

Public Option, so who knows. Our efforts matter. I always will believe that!

A call for unity is a call for totalitarian-style intolerance, and I will have no part in such a thing.

that are in the bill for a while, but as this year drifts by, and the election draws near, we risk losing one of the sides of Congress without the bill going through. I still think there's a very good chance we get a Public Option, but regardless, it's important to get this done for so many reasons, mostly for those who need care!
Those making less than around 80-90k a year will get some type of help to pay I think, and it stops a lot of crappy policies that the insurance companies have employed for decades.

I'd be happy to work for that money and pay it, but the employment outlook is not in favor of that, so I'm in a position of being fined for simply breathing. This mandate is the only thing that I am against. The rest of it may improve things for most people, so I'm fine with that. The mandate, however, is a Republican idea and it is designed to kick the Democratic party's collective ass for decades. If we pass that mandate, there will be a huge backlash. HUGE.

Nicely done. :)

It will never be fixed later and American workers will be crushed under the weight of mandates, priced-out care, and an economic collapse that continues to go unaddressed at its core.

In ten or fifteen years time, you will be hard-pressed to find people who supported this bill. Like NAFTA, there will suddenly be hordes of people who claim "Gee, I didn't want that at the time. I wish the Democrats had worked harder for true reform. Such a shame that we squandered the opportunity. I couldn't believe they did that!"

Just like NAFTA. Just as, in ten or fifteen years, people will claim they vigorously supported LGBT rights, when right now they're fighting the community every. single. step. of the way.

People are never wrong in time.

And the American people will, yet again, suffer and be sacrificed on the altar of political victory and political power.

If people were truly confident in this bill, they would call it what it is - Health Insurance Reform (and even the reform bit is dishonest). Instead, it's HCR, health-care reform, care, care, care.

Because they know, deep down, they are not supporting health care reform. So they have to repeat that phrase over and over as a mantra, to convince themselves and rationalize to themselves and others, that putting this President's political well-being ahead of the American people is a sound thing to do.

Even though, in ten or fifteen years, we will all look back at this and understand the true horror of what our party has done and is doing to the Americans who can afford to endure this government-mandated, corporation-enriching hardship the very least.

none at this time. problems are going to be pointed out and like this drawn out mess, will take time to fix, but hopefully they will get fixed in the future. This country is full of a couple hundred thousands super rich families that most of which do all they can to stop the little people from getting anything to help make their lives, at the minimum, healthy and without great worry about will they be able to get care when they're sick?

And I am currently one of those millions uninsured. At the moment I'm young and healthy (knock on wood), but that could very easily change given I'm currently doing heavy manual labor to make ends meet. I cannot afford insurance. If it is mandated for me, even with the subsidies currently offered, I still couldn't afford it. Even if I somehow manage to scrap enough together to pay for insurance, the deductibles, co-pays, and out-of-pockets would leave me in a situation where I would have insurance but I could not pay for care.

Insurance is not care. They're not synonymous. I might be mandated into insurance, but I would still not have the care I would need should I end up seriously ill or injured.

Millions of families will be in that same situation. Millions of families are in that situation right now. Millions of families are not counted among the uninsured, even though they also are priced out of receiving actual care. The health insurance situation in this country is far, far, far worse than 30 million or so uninsured illustrates.

What we're looking at with this bill is a political solution to an economic problem. We're looking at something that could be great for a politician "We have provided health insurance to millions!" but the reality on the ground is that we still have mostly the same numbers of families who will continue to go without actual affordable and accessible care.

At this point, with a bill this large and this far-reaching, we need an awful lot better than "hopefully this will get fixed." Look at this Congress, with this majority, and this President. If they could not manage these things now, why are we hoping that they will fix it in the future? What is the likelihood their majorities will be sustained or increased? Because, given the economy, given the very critical problems we have with unemployment that continue to go unaddressed, we have no rational reason whatsoever to think we will have a Congress or President more amenable towards fixing these fundamental flaws in the near future.

If anything, given political history, given the current mediocre political will driving our policies, we are very easily looking at another generation or two before any of this will ever get looked at again.

When it comes to the health care crisis in America, I need an awful lot more than "I hope this will eventually sort itself out." Political history tells us it won't. These politicians are, right now, as we speak, explaining to us why they haven't the will to do this now, and will likely not posses the will in the future.

Right now, I see a lot of people saying "God, it's crumbs, but crumbs are better than nothing!" I would posit it is exactly that attitude that enables those in power to get away with shafting the American people again and again and again. Because once you tell them you will accept just about any crumbs you can get, that is precisely what they will give you.

And it is what they are giving us now.

I agree that they obviously are going to have a hard time getting anything accomplished when they let the right wing extremists in the Democratic party get away with slowing down needed reform. They should take everything from them to get the votes.

I see the things this bill will help as a necessity. Even though, I agree if the insurance is made cheap, will there be copays for us uninsured, and how much? We need Universal Healthcare, but that would throw off their march to billions in profits - and that's the root problem - profits before health of the citizens... believe me, I understand and agree with nearly everything you say.

This bears repeating:



And as another poster said upthread, mandates are a republican idea; the first person I heard to call for mandates was Newt Gingrich, as their party believes people are just "too lazy" to purchase insurance, and that with mandated insurance, you'll magically get health care. Why the fsck is the demo party agreeing with Gingrich and his ilk?

Glad to see you on board with this bill.

can do stand alone bills for additional issues (like Grayson's Medicare-Buy-In).

Let's get this done next week! I made some calls today.

Awesome post! :D