Health
Care Reform Update: It's Third Down and Goal to Go!
by Alta Price, M.D.We had health care reform down to the one yard line before losing some yardage when we lost the sixtieth vote in the Senate. But quarterback Obama, in his State of the Union address, reminded us how close we still are to the goal line. After staring down the Team of No defense players at the Q & A session with Republican House members in Baltimore, Obama is back in the huddle with Democratic leadership deciding what play will get us into the end zone.
Barack Obama does not quit, and neither should we. The Team of No and their corporate fans cheering them on from the stands would love to convince us the game is over and we should take our ball and go home. Or go all the way to the other end of the field and start the drive over, and this time they’ll make it easier for us to move the ball down the field. Don’t you believe them. It’s third down and goal to go!
It looks like the next play will involve the House passing the Senate bill, with a separate piece to be passed by the House and Senate (using a majority vote, so we don’t need any pro-insurance company Democratic senators for it to pass) fixing the parts of the Senate bill unacceptable to the House.
The details of the next play are undecided. This would be an excellent time to get the public option back into play. But even without the public option, getting the ball over the goal line would be a major victory for the 31 million Americans who will now be able to receive health care and a defeat for insurers who profit by discriminating against the sick. It won’t be the end of the health care reform season, but it will earn our team a trip to the playoffs!
Last week seven hundred health care reform activists descended on Washington, D.C. for the Families USA annual conference. Read this blog post about the mood at the conference – health care reform is NOT dead. Read what Senator Al Franken told them about the road forward and all the good things in the Senate health bill, even before a “fix” using the majority vote process (a.k.a. reconciliation).
Finally, sometimes when bad things happen, good people get motivated. We are calling our Democracy for America – Quad Cities group together to plan for this election year, to engage citizens in issue advocacy, and to respond to the activist Supreme Court decision promoting the corporate take-over of our political process. From the contacts I’ve made I’d have to say our side is once again fired up and ready to go!
(I would also like to thank Caroline Vernon and Karen Metcalf for their great posts the last two Tuesdays bringing you health care reform updates while I was out of town.)
Alta
Price is a physician practicing Pathology in Davenport, Iowa. One of
the original Deaniacs, she stays involved with Democracy for America,
Iowa, and the Quad Cities. She advocates for quality, affordable health
care for all, primarily as a volunteer with Progressive Action for the
Common Good (Health Care Reform Issue Forum). Watch for Dr. Price's Health Care Reform Update every Tuesday here on Blog for Iowa. E-Mail Alta Price
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