"All I Want For Christmas: Health Care Reform!"

It's time to Break It Down!

Psych! Well sort of, anyway. Health Care Reform is not the Number 1 item on my Christmas List. But given the depth and breadth of the ideological tug-of-war that has played out since the summer, I am confident that sentiment rings true for some, if not many. Day after tomorrow is Christmas, but tomorrow is sure to be marked by the 100 members of the Senate with a big red X.

Let’s take a moment to reset. Before moving to discuss the state of the Health Care Reform debate, I must take a pause for the cause to wish you a Merry Christmas. No matter how you receive this season, I hope you make an earnest and successful effort to celebrate, according to the traditions in which you believe.

Last year at Christmas, I pulled together a Twelve-Song Youtube Christmas Collection. The list includes some of my favorite Christmas music performed by some of my favorite artists. That collection appears at the end of the blog links, along with several links that explore Christmas and other holiday traditions. Enjoy.

Now, back to regular programming, otherwise known as Health Care Reform; a topic most of you are quite familiar with. Because it is a holiday week, I will keep it brief. However, the President of the United States has labeled this initiative his top domestic agenda item. That this historic piece of legislation appears to be headed for approval in the Senate this week strikes me as worth noting.

The battle lines separating the pro and con sides of this issue have long been drawn, and by most accounts, not in sand, but in stone, or steel; perhaps in titanium. Even though there is strong evidence to support the belief that Democrats will hold on to the 60 votes necessary to force Cloture, and prevent a Republican-led filibuster, the contentiousness within the Senate is fierce enough to cause President Obama to delay the start of his Christmas vacation until after the vote. I would not say he lacks confidence; rather it is clear he is cautious, and is taking nothing for granted. No premature victory lap here.

My commitment to full disclosure requires that I remind readers that the Senate’s vote will not end the debate. If the Senate approves its version of the bill, which it is expected to do, the Senate and House bills will be sent to a Conference Committee to work on crafting a compromise that will be sent, ultimately, to both the Senate and House for consideration. In order for the final legislation to be enacted, it must gain approval by both Houses of Congress. The time line anticipated for final action is sometime early in 2010.

While there are two bills, there are several key points included in both:

• Extend coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans
• Reduce the Federal Deficit (According to the Congressional Budget Office)

• Insurers are barred from charging higher premiums based on gender
• Insurers are barred from dropping customers based on pre-existing
conditions
• Expand Medicaid
• Higher premiums charged for older Americans
• All Americans required to purchase health insurance
• Medicare spending reductions

There are also several key differences in the bills:

• House Bill
o Tax surcharge on wealthy Americans
o Public Option

o Senate Bill
o 40% tax on insurance companies providing Cadillac Health Plans
o Additional taxes on families earning more than $250,000
o No Public Option

Both plans curb options to secure abortions, but use different tacks to accomplish that end.

It has been said, governing, and the procedural idiosyncrasies tied to creating laws are a lot like making sausage; even those who enjoy the end product do not relish the messy, behind-the-scenes details of how one gets to that point. To be sure we all enjoy the freedoms we are accorded as American citizens. Yet it was difficult to endure watching and listening to the posturing, judgmental haranguing, and intemperately scathing attack-dog techniques that were on full display, and apparently necessary to get us to this point in the process.

Viewed in that light, I have reconsidered. Indeed, “All I Want For Christmas: Health Care Reform!” Merry Christmas! I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Don’t forget to listen to your concert by checking out the twelve youtube links.

A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Reid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Baucus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Schumer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lieberman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Nelson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnell

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjay_Gupta

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/22/health.care.senate.vote/index.html

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2009/12/22/senate-prepares-for-final-vote-on-healthcare-reform.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_reform_in_the_United_States

http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2009/12/21/real-life-effects-of-reform-getting-lost-in-the-noise/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJO_kdkrj1g (This Christmas - Donnie Hathaway)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga-qd5FYUjA&feature=related (Stevie Wonder – What Christmas Means To Me)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf6fTRTQrG4&feature=related (Natalie Cole – The First Noel)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tht9KD_pB0U (Nat King Cole – Silent Night)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jk34lUQoyQ (Kem - The Christmas Song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxv88-euQtE (Lauryn Hill – Little Drummer Boy)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhVvB0r5l7E (Brian McKnight & Christina Aguilera – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG8abNRsabk&feature=related (Dianne Reeves – Christmas Time Is Here)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_9JJc2zNhI (Boney James – Let It Snow)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWQzmb3xjn8 (Mariah Carey – Hark The Herald)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_n-gRS_wdI (John Coltrane – My Favorite Things)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzd6oCP3FKk Eartha Kitt – Santa Baby)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa