The health care bill is 1,000+ pages. As long as the Old and New Testaments, with a few centuries of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire tacked on. That in itself raises justifiable suspicions as to what is in it. All conceivable explanations for such unseemly length suggest that these doubts are well founded.
The legion of authors is one reason. Most all congressmen, their armada of staffers, armies of lobbyists, and even the occasional White House operative have had a hand in writing this opus. Unhappily, the all too common motivations of ego satisfaction and promotion of self-interest are a lethal combination as far as the public interest is concerned. That's one. Then there are the myriad of qualifiers, addenda and exemptions incorporated at the behest of some special pleading party or other. That's two.
Complexity and rephrased repetitions similarly serve to open opportunities for dispute as to what exactly has and has not been stipulated. Multiple interpretations can be a form of compromise between drafters and/or a way for legislators to put their own spin on the bill when defending it before constituents. That's three. Confusion as to specific aims and purposes also can be the more or less innocent outcome of a turgid, wearisome process. To quote the prophet Isaiah, "Take counsel together and it shall come to nought." Protracted deliberations on this scale pretty much ensure that we have gone beyond 'nought' and passed into negative territory. Amazingly, Isaiah had this blazing insight without ever serving on a Congressional committee or having attended a faculty meeting. That is four.
A persuasive explanation can be compounded of all four hypotheses. That is not reassuring, especially for those who doubtless will encounter the hardships of trying to obtain affordable medical care -- the point of the exercise, supposedly.
Those of a more positive frame of mind will be free to celebrate the modest signs of bipartisanship that marked the bill's tortuous odyssey. No small thing; after all, even the Good Book is bipartisan. Consider the fair and balanced admonitions of Matthew (7:7): "Seek and you shall find," he counsels Republicans while comforting Democrats with the words, "ask and you shall be given." Perhaps reflections on Scripture will give Barack Obama peace of mind on his holidays.
Today, Congress participates in having laws written for them by lobbyists and for profit corporations. They then hide their often criminal collusion behind lengthy, obscurely written laws too complex for most individuals to read or understand. Eventually, the Supreme court must decide what the laws actually mean, and that is through a partisan, not legal prism. Just think back about who it was that put George W. Bush into the Presidency. It was five Republican-appointed, partisan political justices.
Thanks to the author and shame on our Congress.
One wonders how right-wing, Bible-quoting, latter-day pharisees will try to spin that one!
Nevertheless, as a staunch supporter of HR 676 and as a Christian, I think there's value in reminding fellow believers that we are called to follow Christ's example. Coming soon to bumper stickers in my neighborhood!
The simplest solution would be to extend Medicare to everyone (cradle-to-grave), raise payroll taxes to cover the cost and eliminate insurers all together. Insurers offer physicians incentives to delay or avoid costly treatment, while simultaneously charging them outrageous premiums for liability. This forces doctors to practice defensive medicine and to spend more time filling out forms than curing or treating their patients. Insurers deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, deny claims, and exponentially increase premiums once an individual suffers an injury or illness, (or their coverage is dropped). The insurers are the true villains, playing doctors against their patients, while reaping profits from each side. Medicare for all would eliminate the need for tort reform, since few can or would sue the government. Doctors would be able to lower or contain their fees, and the cost savings (not having to buy insurance) to businesses and individuals would be enormous.
First, insurance companies charge high premiums for malpractice suits and doctors practice defensive medicine because of the overwhelming number of malpractice lawsuits and ridiculous jury awards.
Second, whether or not people can sue the government is debatable but people aren't suing the government (much like they're not suing the insurance companies). They're suing the doctors who will still be paying high premiums for malpractice insurance whether we have medicare for all or not. We must have tort reform if we are to have a reduction in defensive medicine and malpractice premiums.
It would be nice to reform the way torts are handled in our judicial system, but that's a battle for another day. It is ESSENTIAL we reform health care. It would be a grievous mistake for proponents of health care reform to tie tort reform to whatever HCR bill Congress may eventually pass.
In answer to Mr. Brenner -- simplification is what we need. Universal Medicare, available at the signing of the bill, not mandatory, but as the "public plan option" as it is now called. No employer or tax mandates. With $3000/per person per year less, there will be some $900 BILLION per year to cover the uninsured. Easy to administer, the structure is already in place. A no-brainer.
What is happening in DC is not "counseling together", rather it is obfuscating, vascilating and outright lying. Counseling together implies good will and an intention toward an agreed end. The problem here is that there is no agreed end.
Single payer is absolutely the only way to go. The reason everything is going to be so expensive is that we are protecting insurance companies' profits (not prophets). People complain of $600 billion dollars cost in 10 years. Well that is exactly what insurance companies' PROFITS will be over that same year.
Read about it here:
http://www.healthcare-now.org/
Take a look at the constitution. It contains some very fundamental laws and principles that are stated simply, unequivocally, and briefly. While the details of tax structure, finance and such will probably amount to more than a few sentences, the basic premise of "all citizens of America shall receive any needed medical care regardless of ability to pay for it" doesn't take 1000 pages to spell out.
If you agree, please sign the petition below, and forward it - any way you can - to anyone and everyone you know! Time to let them know how we feel!!!!
http://www.petitiononline.com/PubOp676/petition.html