Being for Health Care Reform

While the bill that passed in the Senate this morning is not perfect, what is appreciated about this landmark legislation is what President Obama outlined below. I also appreciated the fact that President Obama was in Washington to give support. (He is the executor and the Senate the legislators.) Vice-President Biden presiding over the Senate today was also appreciated.

President Obama said this in part after the vote:

The reform bill that passed the Senate this morning, like the House bill, includes the toughest measures ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable. Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny you coverage on the basis of a preexisting condition. They will no longer be able to drop your coverage when you get sick. No longer will you have to pay unlimited amounts out of your own pocket for the treatments you need. And you'll be able to appeal unfair decisions by insurance companies to an independent party.

If this legislation becomes law, workers won't have to worry about losing coverage if they lose or change jobs. Families will save on their premiums. Businesses that would see their costs rise if we do not act will save money now, and they will save money in the future. This bill will strengthen Medicare, and extend the life of the program. It will make coverage affordable for over 30 million Americans who do not have it -- 30 million Americans. And because it is paid for and curbs the waste and inefficiency in our health care system, this bill will help reduce our deficit by as much as $1.3 trillion in the coming decades, making it the largest deficit reduction plan in over a decade.

May we now press forward still in bettering our health care system and the way business is done in Washington. What preceded this landmark legislation was ugly. All such things in our history tend to be. But must the debate always be so mean-spirited and ugly?