Wonky bloggers lIke Ezra Klein are taking a lot of guff from fellow progressive bloggers for stating that the Senate health care bill is still worth passing even without a public option or a Medicare expansion. Meanwhile, here in Minnesota, the local news has focused on efforts by Democratic state legislators scrambling to find funding for GAMC. GAMC is a state-funded health care program for low-income Minnesotans that had its funding eliminated because of budget cuts earlier this year.
Both the Senate and House bills would expand Medicaid to a significantly larger swath of low-income adults under age 65. That would be a huge benefit for millions of people, including those who are no longer served by GAMC. That fact alone is enough to convince me this bill is worth supporting. The politics of this process are incredibly frustrating, but what matters in the final analysis is whether this bill will make a difference in people’s lives. I have no doubt that it will.
