Courtesy of USBICEF
After Sunday’s historic vote, Americans for the first time have a comprehensive bill aimed at reforming the nation’s broken health care system. The final tally for the legislation in the House of Representatives was 219 votes for the measure and 212 against.
Republicans unanimously rejected the bill, with all 178 GOP representatives voting to kill it, along with 34 concurring democrats.
The bill symbolizes what President Barack Obama’s administration has been about from the very beginning — doing the right thing.
Passage of the health care bill serves as proof that the country’s leaders can tenaciously battle and slam each other over something that should be simple.
The basis of the bill is extending coverage of health care, a product that everyone values and views as positive, while reforming the existing broken system in order to cover the costs of expansion while adding downward pressure on rising medical costs.
As anybody who stays informed of current news would know, passing this piece of legislation was anything but simple.
It has been killed figuratively, revived figuratively, killed and then brought back again. This health care bill is almost cat-like in the sense that it has demonstrated tenacity in survival.
The main reason for this issue is that it was simply misunderstood by much of the public.
News networks from both ends of the spectrum released their heavily slanted facts and opinions on a daily basis in order to try and misinform the people.
Those in charge of the partisan politics behind both corners stopped at no cost to pander and promote what they thought the American people wanted.
The problem, though, is that neither side did a fully devoted and truthful job of representing the American people’s desires.
This left most Americans to pick whichever option they thought would contribute the most good.
Often, this type of choice is referred to as picking the lesser of two evils, but what it really comes down to is what makes the most sense.
A quick look at the bill in the simplest conceptual terms shows that representatives either had to choose to vote for some reform that was not a perfect solution or vote to have no reform at all, leaving costs to rise at dangerous rates and no solution in sight for any of the nation’s problems pertaining to health care.
When viewed in this context, it seems to make the most sense and is the easiest to understand amidst the pages of medical jargon and legal clauses.
The fact of the matter is that this bill will provide substantial aid to many in desperate need; it will level the health care playing field for those who were disadvantaged through no fault of their own.
In a New York Times blog post published Monday, Tara Siegel Bernard said some of the most important reforms, such as prohibiting lifetime limits on medical coverage, prohibition of denying children due to pre-existing conditions and canceling the policies of people who fall dangerously ill, could take place in as soon as six months from the enactment of legislation.
Within three months of the legislation’s enactment, Americans who have been locked out of the health care market due to pre-existing conditions would be able to obtain coverage by purchasing subsidized high-risk premiums.
The passing of this bill marks a point of hope for those who have struggled and have lost everything but the chance to feel as healthy and safe from sickness and financial ruin as any other American.
This health care reform also symbolizes that the government can still make progress toward becoming more efficient and productive.
A well-operating health care system is crucial to any nation that desires to set a standard; America just took a step in that direction.
Andrew Taylor is an economics senior and may be reached at [email protected]
No one is misunderstanding anything: this bill costs money and that money has to come from somewhere. I don’t want my money paying for others besides me or my family or loved ones to go to the hospital. It is my money to do with, I earned that money, not them. I am entitled to that money, not them. End of discussion.
Zed, you just proved you understand way too little and I thank you for that. Since you seem to know how much everything costs, specific to you, please share.
How much of the Zed income will go to strangers at the hospital?
How much of the Zed income will benefit someone more inferior than you or your family?
These are questions that you claim to have a great understanding about, and apparently so does everybody else but me. I encourage them to post their respective amounts too.
I assume you know many people who are just as financially enraged as yourself about this, by the clearly evident focus on finances.
great article! I am proud to be a supportive person of change and this bill, only more change and good things to come for all, whether we want it or not!
It doesn’t take a rocket science to figure out the logistics you twit. Who do you think pays for this expensive bill? Surely not the poor, they hardly carry their weight in the first place and with this cushy bill they have even less reason to do so. Surely not the rich, theres less of them than the poor (especially in this economy), Obamination might not be the devil but he’s most certainly not going to pull a jebus and multiply billions and trillions out of the millions he’d get from there. Hmmm that only leaves one place he could get that money from, oh yes lets not forget the rest of middle-income America, the average joe.
So enlighten me as to why I shouldn’t be pissed that some crack whore gets to go to the hospital for free at the expense of any of my wages? Why shouldn’t I get angry that some no-class low lifes off the street get free health care at the expense of my hard work? I didn’t say it was okay for them to take that money, they didn’t ask me.