Health Care Reform Passes!!!

What an amazing weekend! The Health Care Reform Bill has passed the House of Representatives and will be presented to President Obama for his signature, making the Bill into Law, tomorrow. Even with the inherent flaws this has to be the most important piece of legislation passed in decades. I read this list of some of the key provisions in the Bill from a MoveOn bulletin and think its important to post:

10 THINGS EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HEALTH CARE REFORM

1. Once reform is fully implemented, over 95% of Americans will have health insurance coverage, including 32 million who are currently uninsured.
2. Health insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny people coverage because of preexisting conditions—or to drop coverage when people become sick.
3. Just like members of Congress, individuals and small businesses who can't afford to purchase insurance on their own will be able to pool together and choose from a variety of competing plans with lower premiums.
4. Reform will cut the federal budget deficit by $138 billion over the next ten years, and a whopping $1.2 trillion in the following ten years.
5. Health care will be more affordable for families and small businesses thanks to new tax credits, subsidies, and other assistance—paid for largely by taxing insurance companies, drug companies, and the very wealthiest Americans.
6. Seniors on Medicare will pay less for their prescription drugs because the legislation closes the "donut hole" gap in existing coverage.
7. By reducing health care costs for employers, reform will create or save more than 2.5 million jobs over the next decade.
8. Medicaid will be expanded to offer health insurance coverage to an additional 16 million low-income people.
9. Instead of losing coverage after they leave home or graduate from college, young adults will be able to remain on their families' insurance plans until age 26.
10. Community health centers would receive an additional $11 billion, doubling the number of patients who can be treated regardless of their insurance or ability to pay.

What is there in all of this not to like? What in here was so frightening to anyone? Anyone who currently has insurance coverage they like and want to stay with CAN do so. Anyone who has been denied insurance coverage for any reason will now have a path towards coverage and care. Its about choices. Why is that SO scary to some?

And so it is with great relief I find I can "almost" exhale...I say "almost" (I've taken the deep breathe and am releasing it ever so slowly...) because the Republicans have already appealed the passage of the Bill, and Big Insurance and right-wing extremists are ratcheting up their campaign to spread misinformation about the bill. Methinks, mebelieves, mehopes they shall not prevail, health care reform is I believe, inevitable :). It is a right, not a privilege, for all.

Tomorrow President will sign the overall Bill into Law, but the "fixers" to the bill will still need to be reconciled. Another story for another day.