It is now time for Democrats and Obama to give up on health care reform. I have never seen a majority party screw up a critical issue as the Democrats have on health care reform. No matter how much Progressives compromise the 'other side', be they Republicans or conservatives Dems, ALWAYS demand more. The current health care reform bill is so diluted and slanted so much in favor of the staus quo that there is absolutely no reason for liberals to support it. Better to let the system ride as it is until the misery that it creates starts affecting the average citizen. At this point there are simply too many people happy with the current situation to affect changes that will help everybody. (pecial note to the young: YOU are going to pay for the failure of this attempt to reform the system. The current crop of senior citizens plus an explosion of us baby boomers is going to require much more from you in the coming years.) President Obama needs to cut his losses, let the radicals..excuse me...REACTIONARY's have this one and move onto more important things. Would I prefer to see a nationalized health care system which, like our public education system, everybody pays and everybody benefits, you betcha. Ain't gonna happen this decade. At this point the only thing that the current bill will do is to releive the pressure on the system and allow racketeers to profit for another decade or so: better to not change anything and let the system collapse onto itself.
From what I'm hearing the current Senate bill is closer to single payer then the public option ever was
This alone will break the back of any government run program. "In still more bad news, the report starkly warned that a new long-term care insurance plan included in the legislation could "face a significant risk of failure" because it would attract people in poor health, leading to higher and higher premiums, and eventually triggering an "insurance death spiral." In an attempt to make history they are sacrificing the future. If you're under 40, you are so completely screwed. Ironicly, the same bunch that elected Obama and his crew.