President Obama has promised all of us that if we are happy with our present healthcare--like our plan, like our doctor, etc.--we will be able to keep it. Yesterday's Washington Post takes a look at that idea.
According to the article:
"Legislation written by three House committees and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions would allow eligible employers to move workers into a new marketplace for insurance, where they could choose from various coverage options.
"In the marketplace, called an exchange or gateway, employees could end up with more and better options, analysts say. Even a top Republican staffer to the Senate committee, who is not authorized to speak for the record, agrees with that assessment. But Democratic legislative aides said there is no assurance that any of the options offered in the exchange would be the same as employees' current coverage."
The thing to keep in mind while watching the healthcare debate is that the actual bill will be drafted in committee by the House and the Senate and will probably include ideas from all bills involved. There are a few things to look for if the administration claims that government healthcare will save us money. Watch for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the bill that comes out of committee. Examine the final bill carefully to see if tort reform is included (if not, savings will probably be nonexistent or minimal) and if health insurance companies will be allowed to write new private policies after the bill is enacted. Also watch to see what cuts are being made to Medicare in order to fund parts of the bill.
Understand, also, that the opposition is not coming from the Republicans--they are so powerless in Washington right now, their opposition would be futile. The Democrats could pass any healthcare bill they wanted in a second if all Democrats supported it--the problem is that many Democrats realize that if they vote for any of the current bills, this will be their last term in Congress.
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