Yesterday Breitbart.com reported on one of the problem areas in passing healthcare reform--the President and the Senators disagree on the basic bill. The President has stated that he wants specific projects for specific states taken out of the bill; the Senators want to leave the extra money for individual states in the bill. The Senate approved healthcare reform bill sends $600 million to Vermont in the next ten years for additional Medicaid payments, and almost as much to Massachusetts. Connecticut gets $100 million to build a hospital and Florida residents get to keep Medicare Adavantage insurance. There are also specific extra benefits for Montana, West Virginia, Wyoming, and North and South Dakota.
The reason for the President's opposition to the provisions of the bill regarding specific states is the appearance--back room deals have become very unpopular and many of the provisions in this bill look like payments for votes. The exception that the President is willing to leave in is the $300 million for Louisiana. President Obama regards that as a necessary expense to rebuild after hurricane Katrina.
I really hope this bill does not pass, but if it does, the amount of money it will cost every taxpayer is almost unimaginable. It will not lower health insurance payments or healthcare costs--the only thing this bill will reduce is the quality of healthcare in America.
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