Obama Steps (Lightly) Onto Field

This week is starting to seem like the most important one in months for the health care reform bill. Obama had already announced plans to hold a televised "summit" with congressional leaders of both parties, which is scheduled for Thursday, and today he released his most concrete proposal yet. Obama's plan was taken mostly from the Senate bill, the more moderate of the two chambers, with a few key changes.
The most notable, and newsworthy, part of the bill was actually not part of the bill, at all. Obama decided not to include a public option as part of his bill. The administration has hinted, however, that Obama would back congressional Democrats if the wanted to include a public option in the final bill, even supporting reconciliation as a means to do so. The bill does create an insurance exchange, though, which would require insurance companies to disclose all fees and allow consumers to shop and compare plans side-by-side. Obama has also raised the Medicaid funding that would go to states, to help them cover budget shortfalls and insure more people. The bill also closes the "donut hole" created in Medicare "part-D," and raises the amount that any plan would have to be worth in order to qualify as a "Cadillac plan," and therefor subject to increased taxes, from twenty-three thousand to twenty-seven thousand. Most of these changes should satisfy progressives, expect of course for the failure to include a public option. The "Cornhusker Kickback," in which Nebraska received all of it's Medicaid paid for by the federal government in exchange for the support of Senator Ben Nelson has also, thankfully, been removed.
So this is a good jumping off point for this bill, and for this debate on Thursday. Although the bill coming from the Administration is not what most progressives would have wanted, it is something that can get widespread support, just not in the US Senate. And that is what makes Thursday so important. Will this bill be a starter for both parties to add to and improve, or will this be something for the Republicans to tear down?
A bill that is called "Health Care Reform" will pass the congress and be signed by the President, but what that bill will contain is still up for grabs. It is important that we end "pre-existing conditions" clauses, that we create competition among the insurance companies to give the consumers more power, and it is vital that we make sure no American ever goes bankrupt from medical bills. And we can do all of this without adding to the national debt, but we need leaders who are willing to stand up for the American people ahead of the insurance companies.
Obama has made a habit of saying, "I am not the first President to take up this fight, but I am determined to be the last." Well, sorry, but that's not going to happen. The lobbyist in Washington are too powerful to allow that to happen. We will not get single-payer. We can, however, get a good bill for the American people. One that levels the playing field, and gives the customer the power to make informed choices when it comes to purchasing a vital product. One that does not allow insurance companies to change the rules in the middle of the game, and make huge profits from people who are more afraid for their bank accounts than they are for their lives.