After a 14-month acrimonious battle, and with their political future in question, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday passed significant health care reform legislation, putting the Senate-passed legislation before President Barack Obama for his signature into law.
Making health care available to millions of uninsured Americans and putting an end to the practice of denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions is not radical reform. It is a step in the right direction.
Would any American deny that this nation's health care system is broken? Under today's system, too many people have no health insurance coverage, too many people are denied treatment for pre-existing conditions, and too many people are dying unnecessarily while insurance executives look for loopholes to deny treatment.
It will take future improvements in the legislation to drive down the escalating cost of health care, but there is no doubt that the health insurance reform legislation that passed the House on a vote of 219-212 is a major achievement. Republicans, the party of "no," moved in lockstep voting against the reform plan, joined by 34 dissident Democrats. Supporters passed the bill with just three votes to spare.
The simple truth is that it will take years for all the reforms to be put in place. Republicans have vowed to reverse the plan if they are restored to power. Do they really believe that we should return to today’s system with 47 million uninsured Americans and countless individuals forced into bankruptcy because of outrageous medical bills?
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