House passes public option: Lobby vs. Lyk
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: Opinion
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lobby002@d.umn.edu
Recently the House of Representatives passed a historic healthcare bill, the first major step in revamping the U.S. healthcare system. The bill included the hotly debated public option, but the issue that seems to be creating the most controversy is the abortion amendment that was added to the bill. This bill prohibits the government from subsidizing abortions under the public option. Many Democrats were outraged, while Republicans and blue dog Democrats considered this a success.
The fear is that this will lead to a rise in back alley abortions, and many say it is a step backward for women's rights. Republicans think that this is a positive amendment that protects the unborn. Realistically, this issue is but a fragment of the overall healthcare bill, and is nothing more than a hot-button issue to get both sides fired up. The real issue at stake here is the 50 million uninsured Americans who are suffering from a lack of necessary healthcare day after day, and will continue to carry this burden until something is passed.
In the U.S., we pay twice as much for healthcare than any other country, yet we receive fewer benefits. We live in America, the greatest nation on earth. If there is any place in the world that should have a comprehensive healthcare system, it is here. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and should be available to all Americans. Not only will a reformed healthcare system benefit the millions of uninsured Americans, it will relieve the huge financial burden we all are experiencing.
This bill may not be perfect, and it may not be exactly what President Obama had in mind, but at this point it is more important to get something through that will benefit the American people. People are suffering, and those are the ones we should be concerned about. That is not to say that we should rush a poorly written bill through, but it is important to realize some of the overall components that will likely be passed in any bill. For example, a guarantee that insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Most importantly, we will probably see a bill that gets all Americans insured. Issues such as the public option or the abortion amendment are only small pieces of reform. We can't get ahead of ourselves and start arguing about what will and will not work before we even know. If we can pass something, we can tinker with it along the way to make it better.
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Jake
posted 11/24/09 @ 3:10 PM CST
First let's actually breakdown the "50 (actually 47) million uninsured Americans"
38% have personal incomes over $50,000 that choose not to purchase insurance
27% AREN'T EVEN CITIZENS
Of the remaining 35%, half of them are under 18 and have public options readily available that their parents have not signed them up for. (Continued…)
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