Tom Harken: "We're not building a mansion here; we're building a starter home."

[Born_A_Truman]

http://www.casavaria.com/cafesentido/2009/12/19/5555/democrats-get-60th-vote-to-pass-healthcare-reform-in-senate/

Sen. Tom Harken (D-IA), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee formerly chaired by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, said of the bill “we’re not building a mansion here; we’re building a starter home”, adding that “This is not the end of healthcare reform, it’s the beginning”. Harken and other Democrats promised action early next year, after the reforms are passed, to push for some of the key programs progressive voters want to see.

~~~

And, one of the most biting criticisms of the legislation, regarding its cost, seems to have been answered, as the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest analysis projecting that the Senate proposal would have the effect of cutting the federal budget deficit by $139 billion over ten years. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), assistant majority leader and one of Pres. Obama’s earliest supporters, declared in response that “This is the greatest deficit reduction bill in the history of the United States”.

~~~

Sorry, I misread and thought Harken was quoting Kennedy.

Sounds good to me!

[Arkana]

1. Yes, but there are some people who'd prefer to continue living

in the Amana side-by-side refrigerator/freezer box under the highway BECAUSE they're not getting a mansion.

[Born_A_Truman]

2. Did they think HC would be free?

Canada's single payer HC isn't free! It's paid for by income taxes and some provinces charge fixed-rate premiums.

Do people think that doctors can work for free? Would ANYONE work for free? The mandates may not be appealing but those that can't afford HC or insurance now, most likely will be eligble for the HC subsidy. It's all in the bill!

[Undercurrent]

3. Medicare isn't free either.

You are Mandated to pay taxes.
You are Required to pay premiums.

It doesn't cover everything either. You have to pay a co pay at the least.

No kind of insurance is free.

I have Medicare insurance, yet I feel bad every single day for people who don't have coverage. It just rips me up. It's wrong.

[Born_A_Truman]

4. I'm two years away from Medicare

Right now we're both covered by hubby's insurance from the school district, but he wants to retire in two years and he has no medical when he retires. He'll be too young for Medicare so we're hoping he can get VA until Medicare kicks in for him.