At the beginning of the year, did you expect a health care bill to pass or fail

[ProSense]

[bluestateguy]

1. Pass, but there's a "but"

I also expected the bill to be fully watered down. And it was.

I remember last year in a little noticed MSNBC interview, Lawrence O'Donnell (a former Senate Finance Committee staffer) said that all this hullabaloo about Obama and McCain's health care proposals in the campaign was rather pointless because the bill that emerged from the legislative process would look nothing like the bills that they proposed in the campaign. Very prescient.

[Pirate Smile]

15. I've read that the bill is actually close to what Obama proposed so

:shrug:

[DJ13]

2. I expected a good bill to pass considering Obama's mandate

I was wrong.

[vaberella]

8. You do realize there would NEVER be a good bill as you put it.

Never. What is good for one person is bad for another...I thought the House Bill was great---many here saw it as a failure. I see this bill is good, many here see it as a total failure. The thing is subjective because everyone has their own definition of what is good and what they would like. Some of the single payer people would NEVER ever find any bill that was NOT single payer to be good. And that was just the case. Many of them were demanding kill the bill any of the bills. So this whole good thing is nonsense. This bill still does a lot of positive things.

[DJ13]

10. I expected a weak public option considering how it polls with voters

I consider even a weak PO as vital towards being able to improve healthcare down the line once passed as it embeds a government program into the reform that could be expanded much easier at a later time should the insurance industry not improve coverage or reduce premiums.

No PO is the ultimate sellout of the public to the insurers, and that makes this bill a failure.

[vaberella]

21. Actually a weak PO or no PO is synonymous in my book for one reason.

There is still subsidies given to families. A strong PO, no subsidies---I'd be happier.

[levander]

22. Even with the PO, the public was against this bill...

If how the country felt was the guiding light in Congressional decisions, they'd just can this entire bill.

[PBS Poll-435]

3. I expected an Executive Order. This relying on Congress to pass laws bullshit is wearing thin. nt

:P

[RC]

4. It will pass, but it is a failure.

Nothing less that Single Payer, Universal Health Care.

[ProSense]

14. Interesting. n/t

[burning rain]

18. Cheer up some.

The Medicaid expansion brings the goodness of single-payer to more Americans and will remain readily expandable. :headbang:

[WeDidIt]

5. I expected it to fail

Clinton had a huge mandate in '93, and failed miserably. I expected a full repeat.

[vaberella]

6. At the beginning of the year--Yes. Towards the middle---Only the house. n/t

[azmouse]

7. With the obstructionist Republicans fighting this all the way

I have to admit I didn't have a lot of hope of anything passing. I'm pleasantly surprised that we've gotten our foot in the door.

[femmocrat]

9. I believe they will pass "something".

And the President will sign "something" with great fanfare.

It won't necessarily make anyone happy, though. Too many compromises, too many hard feelings, too many concessions to the insurance industry to consider it a successful bill.

[glowing]

11. Pass, but not be any good for anyone but the ins. co's. A real overhaul needed

to be in place.. Dr.s and nurses in charge of overhauling the health aspects of the healthcare. Ins. co's removed or a supplement only to the "single-payer" solution that would allow access for all Americans diaper to depends.

[Laelth]

12. After the President's stunning success with the stimulus bill, I expected a good HCR bill to pass.

I did not expect that a complete turd of a "health insurance reform" bill was all that would pass. I am quite disappointed.

:dem:

-Laelth

[depakid]

13. Silly me- I thought in the midst of the crash, reason would prevail

and Obama wouldn't squander his populist currency on the health insurance parasites.

[Raine]

16. I thought a bill would pass that wasn't "written" by insurance

and big pharma ... I was wrong. :-(

edit: typo

[Sebastian Doyle]

17. I expected a health care REFORM bill

Not a Criminal Health Insurance Corporation Bailout and Eternal National Enslavement Bill.

[ProSense]

19. This response was not unexpected.

Happy New Year.

[levander]

20. Just find it hard to believe they'll pass something almost 60% of the nation opposes...

I know by all political measures, they look like they're gonna pass something. I just find it hard to believe they'll pass a bill that recent polls have been showing at least 56% of the country opposes.

During the '06 elections, I remember 60% of the nation wasn't happy with how the Iraq War was going. W Bush came on television and said he was one of those 60%. That's how great that 60% number is. Most people in this country don't really know what's going on. They just take their leaders word for it. When you get to a number like 60% on a controversial issue, the country has made up their mind. The people who aren't just following what their leaders say, the vast majority of them have decided it's a bad idea.

It angers me that Congress and the President would pass something that will overhual 1/6th of the country's economy that is so unpopular. I just find it hard to believe they'll actually do it. And, they shouldn't.

[FrenchieCat]

23. I believe you are trying way too hard.

[levander]

26. With you, I'm not trying at all...

You're just one of those guys who's gonna believe whatever dribble comes out of a politician's mouth, just so long as the politician has the label "Democrat" on him.

[cornermouse]

24. Its not a health care bill.

It is a health insurance company care bill. I looked. They're apparently going to expect the poor (supported by government subsidies) to pay 3 times more than what I pay for my own insurance. That is foolish and it is unconscionable. After people pay the premiums they will still have to find the co-pay. You can ignore it all you want but the fact remains that people are going to "pay" for part or all their insurance premium. They're going to have either less or no expendable income, which translates poorly to future economic growth through recalled factory workers and they're going to be angry whether you're happy about it or not.

I have to consider the possibility that my own insurance will go up considerably without any real benefit to the poor who needed more than another kick in the seat of the pants. I probably won't be alone in having my insurance go up a lot. So you have another group of people alienated form the democratic party that you aren't even counting. The democratic party is in trouble if they pass it without even a public option fig leaf.

[Vinca]

25. I was so sure something would pass that would give me access

to the care I need that after discussing my deteriorated hip with the doctor, I assured her it wouldn't be long before reform passed and I would be able to go forward with the hip replacement she recommended. I think the doctor felt worse than I did about my lousy predicament. Maybe next year.

[LWolf]

27. Fail, and I was correct.

We will not have a health CARE bill, but a health INSURANCE bill.

[quakerboy]

28. I expected one to pass

Unfortunately I was wrong. At least we will pass a health insurance bailout. Maybe when they get paid enough, they will eventually toss us a few penny's

[TheKentuckian]

29. Yes, I actually believed some form of health care reform would pass both houses

Imagine my disappointment that none has or likely will and we're going to be stuck with a ProfitCare system for big insurance, a reform that will require nearly as much reform as if nothing had passed.

[busymom]

30. Pass with a public option. Wasn't that the point?

[levander]

31. No, the point was to lower health care costs...

The public option was just one of the proposals to do that.

But, as you've probably noticed, this bill doesn't do anything else to lower costs either.

[MadHound]

32. You need to include another option, pass and fail

As in pass through Congress, get signed into law, and fail the people absolutely.

My money was on that option from the very beginning.