Well, "Something" Is About To Pass in The Senate. [View All]

[MineralMan]

It's certainly not going to be what most of us here want, which is single-payer health care paid for by our taxes, like some other countries have. That's what I want. That's what I've wanted for years.

There was absolutely no chance for single-payer to pass this year. What could pass in the Senate appears to be this current half-assed thing. It benefits some uninsured and uninsurable people, but doesn't provide anything near all the things we want in health care reform.

It is what could pass right now. Next, it will go to the conference committee, where it will change some more. Given the current state of things, it certainly will still not be what we want. It will be what can get through the Congress at this time. No more and no less.

There are many things to dislike in the current bill and the bill that will finally emerge from conference. Opt-outs for paid abortion coverage by states. If you live in a state that opts out that will suck, because you'll have to pay for any abortion yourself. You may, however, be able to get birth control you couldn't get before if you were uninsured. Or, you may have to get it from Planned Parenthood, like people have done for a long time. Personally, I'm going to support an organization that provides charitable funding for individual abortions if this passes.

Mandated coverage is another thing that I don't like. It sucks. However, if subsidies will exist that will enable people to get coverage who don't have it and can't afford it, some will have coverage who would otherwise not. For them, it will be a good thing.

The list of crap and good things goes on and on. Each one can be discussed, complained about, and reviled in some cases.

This is the bill that could get through the Senate, given current Senate rules, current Senators, and all the other political factors that are in play. Anything closer to what we want would not pass at all, as we've seen so many times.

Whatever the conference committee comes up with will be the only thing that will pass both houses. It will not be what we want. It will help some and not help others. But it will help some.

What's next? Next is for all of us to work our butts off to change the climate that limited health care reform to this unsatisfactory package. We need to change the composition of Congress. We need to nominate and elect legislators who will do what we want. In this country, that is the only option we have that can work. We can't change the system without changing the makeup of the system, since the Constitution lays out how the system may be changed, and that is from within the system.

So, the next step is for us to work together to elect people who will vote the way we want them to vote. When we do that, we can get a better system than the one that will pass today. That's how we got civil rights done. That's how we got out of Vietnam. That's how we got Social Security and Medicare, and other things that make the country better than it was before those things happened.

I don't like the bill that will pass the Senate today. I will not like whatever makes it out of conference and gets passed by both houses. I don't think many people do like either one. It's all a big compromise to come up with "something" that will pass.

We can't change that by screaming at each other in this forum. We can only change that by getting people elected who will do what we want. There is no other option.