NEWS JUNKIE POST
Jul 15, 2009 at 11:14 am“Public Option” Included In Final Senate Committee’s Healthcare Reform Bill
By Dolores M. Bernal, NEWS JUNKIE POST
A Senate panel on Wednesday took a large step towards making health care more affordable to Americans.
The Affordable Health Choices Act was passed by the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP). According to lawmakers the legislation “will reduce health costs, protect individual’s choice in doctors and plans, and assure quality and affordable health care for Americans.”
The legislation includes a public-option, which health care reform advocates had ardently called for in order to provide Americans with an alternative to the for-profit insurance industry. The public option is called, “The Community Health Insurance Option.”
There also provisions in the bill that are aimed at making sure no one is denied health insurance even if they have a pre-existing medical condition. Health care advocates who have wrestled with private companies that deny coverage if a person has been diagnosed with a serious illness, applauded the provision.
The Act also calls for employers that do not provide workers with affordable health care to pitch in to the system. There is an exception for small businesses.
“I could not be prouder of our Committee. We have done the hard work that the American people sent us here to do. We have considered hundreds of proposals. Where we have been able to reach principled compromise, we have done so. Where we have not been able to resolve our differences, we have treated those with whom we disagree with respect and patience,” Chairman Kennedy said. “As we move from our committee room to the Senate floor, we must continue the search for solutions that unite us, so that the great promise of quality affordable health care for all can be fulfilled.”
“We began this process with a blank sheet of paper and a mandate from the American people. We all knew the history, marked with too many disappointments, and I said that this time would be different. Well, this time is different,” said Senator Dodd. “The American people demanded legislation that protects their choice of doctors, hospitals, and insurance plans; cuts costs for families, businesses, and the federal government; and ensures that, in the wealthiest nation in the world, everyone has access to affordable, high-quality care. This time, we have produced the legislation Americans wanted. This time, we have delivered on the promise of real change.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill will cost less than $615 billion over 10 years. Democrats are pushing to bring the bill to the Senate floor by the Fall for a final vote. President Obama said in a statement that he wants it on his desk before the August recess.
“The HELP committee’s success should give us hope, but it should not give us pause. It should instead provide the urgency for both the House and Senate to finish their critical work on health reform before the August recess,” Obama said.
“This proposal will bring down costs, expand coverage, and increase choice. Through a health insurance exchange, families and small businesses will be able to compare prices and quality so that they can choose the health care plan that best suits their needs,” he said.
Republicans have publicly said that they will oppose the bill because the cost will make the deficit worse.
THIS IS IT!
The healthcare reform bill released by the House Of Representatives is an excellent bill as I understand it. It is carefully written, and thoughtfully constructed, informed, prudent and wise. This bill will save trillions of dollars, and millions of your lives.
This is the type of bill that all Americans can feel good about. And this is the type of bill that has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of healthcare for all Americans. Rich, middle class and poor a like. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and all other party affiliations. This bill has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of life of every American.
The house healthcare bill should be viewed as the minimum GOLD STANDARD by which all other proposed healthcare legislation should be judged. All supporters of true high quality healthcare reform should now place all your support behind this healthcare reform bill released by the United States House Of Representatives, as the minimum Gold standard for healthcare reform in America.
You should all now support this bill with all your might, and all of your unrelenting tenacity. This healthcare bill is a VERY, VERY GOOD! bill for all of the American people. Fight tooth, and nail for every bit of this bill if you have too. Be aggressive, creative, and relentless for this bill.
AND FIGHT!! like your life and the lives of your loved ones depends on it. BECAUSE IT DOES!
SPREAD THE WORD
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSM8t_cLZgk&feature=player_embedded)
God Bless You
Jack Smith — Working Class