Ever since the election, 2009 looked like the year health care reform would be achieved. But barring a complete breakdown in the political process, the odds of passing a health care bill have been elevated from pretty good to great. Congressional Democrats agreed yesterday to use reconciliation to protect health care legislation from a Republican filibuster. Reconciliation can be thought of as the big beefy guy who will be standing behind the Democrats during negotiations with the Republicans. If the bill can’t get 60 votes, reconciliation will allow it to pass with a simple majority.
Republicans argue that health care reform is too important to be passed by a simple majority and that such parliamentarian tactics will only provoke partisan bickering. But I would argue just the opposite. This issue is too important to let it be held hostage by a party that has shown so little interest in striking any sort of compromise with the president. A health care bill will be passed, with or without Republican support. Given that reality, perhaps Republicans will decide it’s in their best interest to be collaborators rather than taking their ball and going home.
I don’t study these things – I only know what I see on the news. And when Larry Summers says on Meet the Press that we are going to save money by limiting unnecessary procedures, that worries me. Can you help me to understand how this is not rationing? Maybe you could write a post on it. Also, are our medical records really going to be collected by the government? (with or without names?) So that they can decide what treatments are appropriate? Or is that just a right wing scare tactic?
Thanks