GlobalShift

House Passes Healthcare Bill, Includes Public Option

Late Saturday evening, the House of Representatives passed the historic healthcare reform bill, bringing the United States one step closer to universal healthcare. With 220 yeas to 215 nays, this narrowly passed piece of legislation will only have a more difficult journey through the senate; it is too soon to rejoice, but there are hopeful signs. And of course, the final hours of debate were filled with intrigue, positioning, and reversals — aaaah, politics! The bill does contain the public option, and though it does not achieve universal healthcare, it is estimated to ensure coverage for 96% of Americans. The public option is in place for those that are not able to get healthcare, and so is not designed to be an all-encompassing universal plan. Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that its cost will actually be higher than private insurance. In the final hours of the bill, amendments were passed that ensured public monies could not be used to fund abortion-related procedures. Though introduced by republicans, this amendment in fact ensured the bill’s passing by making the bill more palatable to pro-life democrats. Some people may be wondering about those 39 democrats that voted against the bill — whats the deal? Would they have been willing to kill this legislation? I don’t think so. By knowing this vote was secure, Pelosi allowed those democrats — who almost all hail from republican-leaning districts — to vote against the bill without destroying it all together. A pretty clear case of political posturing to appease your constituents. What is more interesting is the lone republican that voted in favor of the bill, Joseph Cao. Representative Cao stated that he “had to make a decision of conscience based on the needs of the people in my district.” It is hard to think of a more telling signal of a politician’s dedication to their constituents’ well-being than going against the orders of your party’s leadership to vote for something  you believe in. Though it may alienate Mr.Cao from the rest of his party in the short-run, this should help in the long-run by giving him a reputation of reaching across the aisle and willingness to compromise; plus, I would think it will help him get re-elected. Now the bill faces a difficult battle in the Senate. Lindsay Graham, a republican senator, argues that the bill is “dead-on-arrival” because it contains several non-starter stipulations, including a millionaire tax and, most importantly, the public option. Unfortunately, there is a chance that 39 other filibuster-ready senators agree. Most strikingly the independent, Joe Lieberman who you may recall was recently not only a democrat, but the democratic vice-president nominee in 2000, then switched parties to get re-elected, then supported John McCain (and thus Sarah Palin!) in the 2008 presidential election; Mr.Lieberman has stated that the public option will be the death of insurance companies, and that his “conscience would not allow” him to vote for cloture (which is to say, he would support a filibuster). Of course, Senator Lieberman’s home state, Connecticut, headquarters many of the nation’s insurance companies (who have donated $800,o00 to the senator since 2000), though he argues this has nothing to do with his opinion. Though healthcare reform in some format will most likely be on the way, the public option may not be coming with it. I urge you all to email and call your state’s senators to voice your opinion regarding the public option. [Boston Globe] and [USA Today]