Senate Democrats Own the Health Care Bill
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Last Monday the Senate Democrats voted by 60 to 40 to close debate on the controversial health care legislation backed by President Barack Obama.
Democrats could not get one single vote from the Republicans who have consistently pointed out the negative impact of the bill for Americans.
Now, the divided chamber appears to be heading towards a vote to pass the bill on Thursday, Christmas Eve.
If the bill passes in the Senate, as it is expected, that version will have to be merged with a more liberal version passed by the House of Representatives which includes a government-run alternative, not included in the Senate version.
There is likely to be more wrangling and possibly several other late night votes on Capitol Hill in January.
Senate Minority leader, Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky summed up Republican opposition, saying the bill is too expensive and does not fix the problems with the current health care system.
Washington Post contributing editor Robert Samuelson published an opinion editorial on Obamacare this week.
According to Samuelson, even if Congress passes legislation the finished product will fall far short of Obama’s extravagant promises.
Samuelson believes that the new plan will not cover everyone. It will not control costs. It will worsen the budget outlook. It will lead to higher taxes.
His opinion editorial also states that the bill will disrupt how, or whether, companies provide insurance for their workers. The various health-care proposals represent atrocious legislation.
The Washington Post editorial board also wrote on the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act tucked into Obamacare.
The Post indicates that both the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) and the chief actuary for the Medicare program have expressed misgivings.
The Medicare actuary, Richard S. Foster, cited “a very serious risk”: Adverse selection — sicker people signing up for the program and the healthier staying away — “would make the CLASS program unsustainable.”
Likewise, CBO director Douglas W. Elmendorf warned that “the CLASS program could be subject to considerable financial risk in the future if it were unable to attract a sufficiently healthy group of enrollees.”
National Review´s Rich Lowry and Robert Costa point out five obstacles that still stand between Reid-Pelosi and a White House signing ceremony: public revulsion, the abortion issue, the taxes, the impact in 2010 for 28 “blue Democrats”, and the left´s discontent with the bill.
According to Lowry and Costa, all of this means that Democrats should not be celebrating until they have the bill on Obama’s desk.
The Americano / Agencies
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