Healthcare Debate in Massachusetts – Far from Over

Senator Scott Brown from Massachusetts

As much as Scott Brown may have wanted to stop the current health care reform bill, one Senator was not enough to turn the tide.  Some Worcester Bloggers(Wormtown Taxi) are even insinuating that his election actually sparked the actions from Democrats to get to the point where the bill passed in the House this past Sunday.

The reporting on the specifics of the health care bill had been very vague until this point.  Suddenly there is a wealth of information that may have benefited the general public so that they could call their representatives with specific concerns.  This morning there was a breakdown available from the Globe and from the Wall Street Journal.  The Wall Street Journal is subscription based but they reference a great source for learning the specifics of the Healthcare Bill and the various reconciliation bills.  They can be found at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

For the most part I would bet the average American on the street thinks that improving Health Care Coverage and making the Healthcare Industry more accountable is a good thing.  The problems and debates that I have been exposed to center on the lack of understanding the changes that are going to take place. These is also the suspicion that the reforms have not been put in place that will truly force hospitals and insurance companies to improve efficiencies and therefore decrease costs.  Massachusetts Representative Stephen Lynch has stated that the reforms required to do those things are no longer in this bill while our own Representative McGovern espouses a variety of benefits not only for all Americans but for Massachusetts specifically.

The Republican Party looks like it is not going to sit still.  The Senate still needs to pass the Reconcilation Bill that is said to have been a Democratic maneuver to bypass the need for a supermajority in the Senate that would have been needed to actually pass the full bill.  According to the Globe:

Democrats are resorting to reconciliation, which allows passage of measures with a simple majority instead of a 60-vote supermajority required to break a filibuster, because Brown’s election to replace the late Edward M. Kennedy gave the GOP a 41st vote.

The Republicans are also looking at ways to repeal the law.  Some states are actually legally challenging the law as well.

If the election of Scott Brown sparked the Democratic Party (President Obama and Speaker Pelosi) to pull out all the stops for passage of this bill maybe passage of this bill will spark all Americans to take a harder look at how it will impact them.  If it makes sense for your situation great if not make sure you make your vote count in the November elections.