Obama outlines health care plan for all

Health Care Vote Set to Expose the Myth of the 'Pro-Life Democrat'
Sun Mar 21, 5:58 pm ET

WASHINGTON, March 21 – PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Phyllis Schlafly, president and founder of the conservative grassroots public policy organization Eagle Forum, made the following remarks after the public announcement that formerly pro-life Democrat Bart Stupak (D-MI) will cast a "yes" vote for the Senate health care bill today in the House:

Quote:

---

"It is naive for any elected official, especially one who describes himself as 'pro-life,' to expect that a promise to issue an Executive Order that reasserts the intentions of the Hyde Amendment will be fulfilled by the most pro-abortion president to ever sit in the White House. Perhaps Mr. Stupak and his fellow pro-life Democrats forget that President Obama's first Executive Order was the repeal of the Mexico City Policy to allow for international funding of abortion."

"Not only would an Executive Order be rendered meaningless in the face of Congress passing legislation which actively provides for the massive expansion and funding of abortion services, but anyone who doubts the abortion tsunami which awaits this bill becoming law lives in a fantasy world."

"Barack Obama has lined every existing federal agency with the most dedicated pro-abortion ideologues, and we know that he will continue this pattern of pro-abortion appointments when it comes time for him to fill the over-100 bureaucracies created to administer his socialized health care program."

"Any formerly pro-life Democrat who casts a 'Yes' vote for this Senate health care bill tonight will be forever remembered as being among the deciding votes which facilitated the largest expansion of abortion services since Roe v. Wade."

"Mr. Stupak and his Democrat followers have now clarified that you cannot be pro-life and be a Democrat. If abortion was truly their biggest issue, they wouldn't willfully align themselves with the Party of Death."

"This vote will expose the myth of the 'pro-life Democrat.' With this single vote, the Democratic Party will divide our nation into the Party of Death and the Party of Life, and future elections will never be the same."

---

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/2010032...hsYWZseWhlYWw-


Barney Frank on the Rule of Law
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/201...le-of-law.html

The toad-like Barney Frank weighed in this afternoon on the Capitol's raucous crowd as Democrats bribed, cajoled and threatened their caucus to vote for a government takeover of health care.

Quote:

---

Rep Michael Turner (R-Ohio) walked by carrying a sign saying “I’m voting no!” Trent Franks, a Republican of Arizona and Pete Olson, a Republican of Texas, came down to thank the Tea Partiers for their support.

Inside the House chamber, a protester was ejected by Capitol Police after yelling from the House gallery.

Frank was visibly angry with his GOP colleagues, whom he believed goaded the protesters.

"Did you guys see the Republicans encouraging the disruption?" Frank left the House floor to tell about 15 reporters. "These clowns are out there encouraging violation of the law and making the job of the guys up there harder. It's really disgraceful."

---

This pathetic excuse for a legislator spits on the United States Constitution, claims to have granted "rights" by stealing the labor of others, and -- top it off -- promotes the bankruptcy of the country by expanding entitlements at a time when we can least afford it?

And he's angry about a protester?

I'll tell you what I'm angry about. A man like Barney Frank who started his law-breaking days when he allowed a brothel to operate out of his condo and never paid a price. A man who is culminating his career with the destruction of the American experiment, changing forever the relationship between the individual and government. Citizens of Massachusetts: you could select a representative by throwing a dart at a phone book and do significantly better than this disgraceful troll.

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:


The Consent Of The Governed
Posted by Jay Tea
Published: March 21, 2010 - 6:30 PM

One fact about our system of governance -- even more than most -- is that it is entirely conditioned on the consent of the governed. It's spelled out in the Declaration of Independence, right in the second paragraph: "That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

It's a fact of our daily lives. The government relies on the vast majority of Americans just quietly obeying the law, going along, as part of the social compact.

The health care financing "reform" bill is even more dependent on that concept -- and that could be its Achilles heel.

So much of it depends on people just accepting it as the new reality, and adapting to it and going on with their normal business. But that is far from guaranteed.

The government's assumption of command and control of one-sixth of the nation's economy can be summed up as thus: "if youre going to play this game, these are the rules. You will obey those rules under penalty of law."

The assumption that could backfire if enough people and groups decide they don't want to play the game.

The government sets limits on what it will pay for prescription drugs at pharmacies. Well, the pharmacies can decide they won't take Medicare payments. Will the government demand these pharmacies operate at a loss? Well, the Obama administration might -- but they can't demand that Walgreen keep its doors open.

They can dictate what doctors can charge for their services when they treat Medicare and Medicaid patients, but they can't demand that the doctors accept them as patients -- or stay practicing if they want to quit.

And what would happen if, should health insurance become mandatory, people simly refuse to sign up -- or, worse, refuse to provide proof of insurance?

I have a hunch the people behind the current atrocity called "health care reform" have an inkling about that. That would explain why they';ve decided to put the IRS in charge of collecting the taxes and confirming that people are enrolled.

If this abortion actually becomes law, I'm toying with the idea of simply refusing to provide any information about whether or not I have health insurance. That is strictly a matter between me, my employer, and their insurance provider of choice. And should my employer or insurance company think about answering for me, I wonder if doing so in deliberate contradiction with my wishes would constitute a HIPAA violation.

I haven't launched any stupid crusades in a while. This might be a fun one to start...

http://wizbangblog.com/content/2010/...e-governed.php

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by galeane29

God help us all, they passed the darn thing.

---

A-men ...

Can even one of the "defenders" of this ... even try to explain why if this is such a fabulous idea ... does Pelosi "healthcare is a right not a privledge" and the rest exempt themselves from that which they serve to the rest of us ??



Congress clears historic health care bill
David Espo, Ap Special Correspondent – 10 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Summoned to success by President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled Congress approved historic legislation Sunday night extending health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and cracking down on insurance company abuses, a climactic chapter in the century-long quest for near universal coverage.

Widely viewed as dead two months ago, the Senate-passed bill cleared the House on a 219-212 vote. Republicans were unanimous in opposition, joined by 34 dissident Democrats.

Obama watched the vote in the White House's Roosevelt Room with Vice President Joe Biden and about 40 staff aides. When the long sought 216th vote came in — the magic number needed for passage — the room burst into applause and hugs. An exultant president exchanged a high-five with his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

A second, smaller measure — making changes in the first — was lined up for passage later in the evening. It would then go to the Senate, where Democratic leaders said they had the votes to pass it.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the legislation awaiting the president's approval would extend coverage to 32 million Americans who lack it, ban insurers from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions and cut deficits by an estimated $138 billion over a decade. If realized, the expansion of coverage would include 95 percent of all eligible individuals under age 65.

For the first time, most Americans would be required to purchase insurance, and face penalties if they refused. Much of the money in the bill would be devoted to subsidies to help families at incomes of up to $88,000 a year pay their premiums.

Far beyond the political ramifications — a concern the president repeatedly insisted he paid no mind — were the sweeping changes the bill held in store for millions of individuals, the insurance companies that would come under tougher control and the health care providers, many of whom would face higher taxes.

Crowds of protesters outside the Capitol shouted "just vote no" in a futile attempt to stop the inevitable taking place inside a House packed with lawmakers and ringed with spectators in the galleries above.

Across hours of debate, House Democrats predicted the larger of the two bills, costing $940 billion over a decade, would rank with other great social legislation of recent decades.

"We will be joining those who established Social Security, Medicare and now, tonight, health care for all Americans, said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, partner to Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in the grueling campaign to pass the legislation.

"This is the civil rights act of the 21st century," added Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the top-ranking black member of the House.

Republicans readily agreed the bill would affect everyone in America, but warned repeatedly of the burden imposed by more than $900 billion in tax increases and Medicare cuts combined.

"We have failed to listen to America," said Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, leader of a party that has vowed to carry the fight into the fall's midterm elections for control of Congress.

The final obstacle to the bill's passage was cleared at mid-afternoon when Obama and Democratic leaders reached a compromise with anti-abortion lawmakers whose rebellion had left the outcome in doubt. The White House announced he would issue an executive order pledging that no federal funds would be used for elective abortion, satisfying Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan and a handful of like-minded lawmakers.

A spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed skepticism that the presidential order would satisfy the church's objections.

Republican abortion foes also said Obama's proposed order was insufficient, and when Stupak sought to counter them, a shout of "baby killer" could be heard coming from the Republican side of the chamber.

The measure would also usher in a significant expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor. Coverage would be required for incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, $29,327 a year for a family of four. Childless adults would be covered for the first time, starting in 2014.

The insurance industry, which spent millions on advertising trying to block the bill, would come under new federal regulation. They would be forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions and from canceling policies when a policyholder becomes ill.

Parents would be able to keep children up to age 26 on their family insurance plans, three years longer than is now the case.

A new high-risk pool would offer coverage to uninsured people with medical problems until 2014, when the coverage expansion would go into high gear.

For the president, the events capped an 18-day stretch in which he traveled to four states and lobbied more than 60 wavering lawmakers in person or by phone to secure passage of his signature domestic issue. According to some who met with him, he warned that the bill's demise could cripple his still-young presidency.

After more than a year of political combat, Democrats piled superlative upon superlative across several hours of House debate.

Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York read a message President Franklin Roosevelt sent Congress in 1939 urging lawmakers to address the needs of those without health care, and said Democrat Harry Truman and Republican Richard Nixon had also sought to broaden insurance coverage.

Republicans attacked the bill without let-up, warning it would harm the economy while mandating a government takeover of the health care system.

"The American people know you can't reduce health care costs by spending $1 trillion or raising taxes by more than one-half trillion dollars. The American people know that you cannot cut Medicare by over one-half trillion dollars without hurting seniors," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich.

"And, the American people know that you can't create an entirely new government entitlement program without exploding spending and the deficit."

Obama has said often that presidents of both parties have tried without success to achieve national health insurance, beginning with Theodore Roosevelt early in the 20th century.

The 44th president's quest to succeed where others have failed seemed at a dead end two months ago, when Republicans won a special election for a Massachusetts Senate seat, and with it, the votes to prevent a final vote.

But the White House, Pelosi and Reid soon came up with a rescue plan that required the House to approve the Senate-passed measure despite opposition to many of its provisions, then have both houses pass a fix-it measure incorporating numerous changes.

To pay for the changes, the legislation includes more than $400 billion in higher taxes over a decade, roughly half of it from a new Medicare payroll tax on individuals with incomes over $200,000 and couples over $250,000. A new excise tax on high-cost insurance policies was significantly scaled back in deference to complaints from organized labor.

In addition, the bills cut more than $500 billion from planned payments to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and other providers that treat Medicare patients. An estimated $200 billion would reduce planned subsidies to insurance companies that offer a private alternative to traditional Medicare.

The insurance industry warned that seniors would face sharply higher premiums as a result, and the Congressional Budget Office said many would return to traditional Medicare as a result.

The subsidies are higher than those for seniors on traditional Medicare, a difference that critics complain is wasteful, but insurance industry officials argue goes into expanded benefits.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100322/..._care_overhaul

Quote:

---

America is now a place for the illegal immigrants and soon mexican drug cartels, & lazy people who won't get the education they need to get a real job! A job that will pay for their house, food, automobiles, education for kids and health insurance. All labor and factory jobs have gone overseas. Since all the steel mills and car manufacturing plants have left america, you will have to get a stellar education and be a professional to live comfortably in America. The trouble is when you make all the sacrifices needed - money and time to get a highly educated professional position then you have to feed, clothe, shelter and provide medical care for the illegals, pill pushers, methheads and drug lords who will never have to pay taxes.

Then there are the people who complain that they are much better off not working cause they couldnt make enough money to even make it on their own let alone take care of a family. If I have to learn Spanish just to live in N.America I would as soon go to Costa Rica!

---

Quote:

---

So America...who really voted for your benefit? Anti-abortionist were bought out for money to improve airports...so much for conviction. More IRS agents to scrutinize and squeeze yet even more money from your pocket. Insurance companies will be forced to raise rates, people who work will pay more taxes and even get a medical luxury tax added to their tax bill. And just tell me, how in the world can you shove a government takeover of student loans into a health bill?

---

Is there any hope that the senate will not allow this abortion of a healthcare pass?
I am scared that this has marked the beginning of the end, the will of the people means nothing, government has become big brother!

I started to cry when I heard this.

sickening, truly sickening....:(

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/03...late-sunday%2F

House Passes Health Care Overhaul in Historic Win for Democrats


The House of Representatives voted 219 to 212 late Sunday night to approve a sweeping overhaul of the health insurance industry after more than a year of planning, debate, delay and frequent internal party disarray among Democrats in Washington. The vote represents a historic victory for Democrats, who have promised for decades to extend health insurance to the millions of Americans who do not have it. All Republicans and 34 Democrats voted against the bill.

"We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things and of tackling big challenges," President Obama said in remarks shortly after the vote.

The legislation will prevent insurance companies from dropping or denying coverage based on a customer's medical history. It will also require every American to purchase health insurance and will penalize large businesses that do not provide insurance for their employees. By 2014, individuals will be able to shop for insurance on new health care exchanges, and will be subsidized by the government if they cannot afford it.

To pay for the reforms and expansion, the bill will increase fees on pharmaceuticals and medical devices; tax expensive insurance policies beginning in 2018; and expand Medicare payroll taxes to investment income.

Despite the bill's $940 billion, 10-year price tag, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that it would reduce the federal deficit by $130 billion in the next ten years, and by $1.2 trillion during the following ten years.

After the House voted to approve the Senate bill, it took up a package of "fixes" to the underlying Senate legislation, which some House Democrats had vocally opposed. The package included overhauling the student loan program, eliminating the "Cornhusker Kickback" to Nebraska, narrowing the effects of the excise tax and adding more funding for subsidies to make insurance more affordable. The House passed the amendment 220 to 211.

Earlier Sunday, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) announced that he had come to an agreement with the White House on restrictions for abortion funding in the bills. The White House confirmed that the president would sign an executive order Sunday night explicitly stating that no funds from the health reform package would be used for abortion services or abortion coverage.

"We wanted to see health care reform," Stupak said Sunday afternoon. "But there was a principle that mattered more to us than anything and that was the sanctity of life."

Before the House voted, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke from the House floor at the end of several hours of sometimes heated debate between Democrats and Republicans.

She quoted the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in calling health care reform "the great unfinished business of our society," but added, "unfinished until today." The speaker framed Sunday night's vote as a historic moment that would be remembered as the day that America defined health care to be a right and not a privilege.

"We tonight will make history for our country and progress for the American people," Pelosi said.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called the bill a compassionate example of what it means to be American. "Illness and infirmity are universal," Hoyer said. "Our bodies may fail us, but our neighbors don't have to."

As much as House Democrats praised their bill, Republicans spoke out in fierce opposition to it.

Republican whip Rep. Eric Cantor accused President Obama and the Democrats of passing a bill that will bankrupt the country and of ignoring Americans' opposition to the bill in their fervor to pass it. "I have a message for those Americans -- we hear you," Cantor said. "We hear you loud and clear. Because we believe this government must stop spending money it doesn't have."

Rep. John Boehner, the top Republican in the House, excoriated Democrats for using tactics they had decried when they were in the minority.

"Can you say this bill was done openly, with transparency and accountability? Without backroom deals and struck behind closed doors, hidden from the people?" Boehner said as his voice grew louder. "Hell no you can't!"

In addition to the health care legislation and debate, the House also passed a major overhaul of the student loan industry. The legislation eliminates the role of private lenders, which have received billions of dollars in federal subsidies and guarantees over the last 35 years to encourage them to lend to students. Instead, students would now get their loans directly from the Department of Education starting July 1.

Now that the Senate health reform bill has passed the House, it will go to President Obama to be signed into law immediately. The package of fixes to the bill will go to the Senate, where debate will begin Tuesday.

Because the Senate will use budget reconciliation rules to pass the bill, no filibusters will be allowed, but Republicans can offer as many amendments as they want. If even one amendment passes, the package will have to go back to the House to be passed again and again, until the two chambers pass identical bills.

As the House voted Sunday, President Obama watched the proceedings from the White House's Roosevelt room with the vice president and several members of his staff. When the House reached the 216 votes needed to pass the bill, the AP reports, Obama cheered and reached over to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to exchange a high-five.

Moments later, the president spoke to the press in the East Room of the White House, calling the bill "a reform package finally worthy of the people we serve."

"We rose above the weight of our politics," Obama said. "We pushed back on the undue influence of special interests. We didn't give in to mistrust or cynicism or to fear."

The president thanked Pelosi for passing the bill through the House, and spoke directly to the members of Congress who voted for it. "I know this wasn't an easy vote for people, but it was the right vote," he said. "This is what change looks like."

The day on Capitol Hill began with partisan passions vividly on display, as conservative protesters outside the Capitol shouted "Kill the bill!" and "We won't pay for murder!" at Democratic members of Congress as they arrived to begin the climactic debate and vote.

The protesters' numbers and volume grew as the day wore on, as did the suspense over whether Pelosi would be able to marshal the votes she would need to pass the final bill. Although several of the 20 undecided Democrats announced throughout the day how they would cast their votes, too few came out in favor of the legislation to guarantee its passage.

With the number of hold-outs dwindling and a 1 p.m. ET debate approaching, it became clear that Democrats could not pass health care reform without Stupak and his coalition of anti-abortion Democrats, who have said for months that they would not vote for reform without specific language guaranteeing that no federal funds from the bill would be used for abortion services.

After meeting well into the night Saturday on the abortion issue, Democratic leaders again huddled behind closed doors with Stupak's group Sunday morning. They also held separate meetings with the pro-choice caucus to make sure that any agreement with one side would not cost the votes of the other.

As rumors of an agreement popped up and were batted down throughout the afternoon, Pelosi gathered all of her Democratic members for one final meeting to urge them to stay committed to their votes. She noted that the House debate would come on the anniversary of Rep. John Lewis' march over the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., at the height of the Civil Rights era. She also said she would use the same gavel on the House floor Sunday that Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) used when Medicare passed the House in 1965.

Pelosi emerged from her meeting and walked members of her caucus from the Cannon house office building across the street to the Capitol, hand-in-hand with Rep. Lewis, to begin the final debate on the bill. Protesters, now numbering in the thousands, loudly shouted at the members as they filed past and waved signs saying, "Doctors not dictators!" and "Liberty or death!"

The formal debate on the bill began with Stupak's coalition still undecided, but all of the remaining Democrats and Republicans firmly entrenched in their "for" and "against" positions.

As the partisan show played out on the House chamber, the ultimate outcome of health care reform became clear when Stupak announced that he had indeed come to an agreement with the White House, and that the president would sign an executive order Sunday with the language the congressman had sought for months.

For Republicans looking to stop health care reform from passing the House at that point, there was little they could do but speak out against the bill and wait for the 2010 elections, which they believe will be a referendum on a bill they say Americans don't want.

Just before the votes, Rep. James Clyburn, the Democratic whip, reflected on what the bill would mean in the scope of his 18-year career in Congress and said he hadn't been particularly emotional about it until his teenage grandson sent him a text Saturday to wish him luck on the vote.

"It's personal with him," Clyburn said of his grandson, who has struggled with his health since his premature birth. "You don't expect a 15-year-old to be paying attention, but he is."

Quote:

---

House Passes Health Care Overhaul in Historic Win for Democrats

---

This is what makes me crazy with this whole thing....it's pegged as "historic", "win for Democrats/Obama", etc..... Legislation should be for the people! This is not!! This is to stroke the power and control hungry politicians.....

A vote should be a "Win for the People"....not a Democrat, Nancy, etc.....sickening.

And as history has proven, not all 'historic' events were good....:(

It's liable to become a historic loss for the democrats come this November.

Spud N 12.

Hope everyone who voted him in is happy now, as a resident of the United States of Socialism.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nightrider127

It's liable to become a historic loss for the democrats come this November.

Spud N 12.

---

I sure hope so and we must continue to remind people of the dirty politics that has happened here, I want to see all of them out!!!!!

As much as we need healthcare reform this is the worst way to go about it! I guess the illegals will be dancing in the streets?

Obama's Health Care Reform Bill Passed
Karen Tumulty / Washington 44 mins ago

Having staked the success of his presidency on the longstanding Democratic dream of universal health care, President Obama finally achieved victory on Sunday night, bringing an end to a yearlong partisan struggle. "This legislation will not fix everything that ails our health care system, but it moves us decisively in the right direction," Obama said shortly after the historic vote. "This is what change looks like." With Democrats chanting the signature line of the Obama presidential campaign - "Yes we can!" - the House voted 219-212 to send a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system to be signed into law. "We tonight will make history for our country and progress for the American people," Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared shortly before the vote. "Today we have the opportunity to complete the great unfinished business of our country."

The Democrats passed the bill without a single Republican vote - and with the knowledge that it may well have ended the political careers of some who voted for it at a time when the public remains deeply divided over the entire endeavor. "If we pass this bill, there will be no turning back," warned minority leader John Boehner. "It will be the last straw for the American people."

Suspense about the outcome continued until the final hours of the debate. Passage appeared to be assured only after Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak announced in the late afternoon that he and a group of antiabortion Democrats, who had pushed for more restrictive language in the original House bill, had been satisfied that the Senate version would not allow the use of federal funds to pay for the procedure. That only came after President Obama promised to sign an executive order reaffirming that the bill would maintain a "consistency with longstanding restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion." In reality, that executive order was more a symbolic move than an actual concession; the bill's supporters have insisted all along that it does nothing to change the current federal policy, known as the Hyde Amendment, which has been in effect since 1976.

The second bill passed by the House late Sunday will make adjustments to the legislation, such as lowering the impact of an excise tax on high-value insurance plans and stripping out some sweetheart deals like the now infamous cornhusker kickback, using a process known as budget reconciliation. Such changes would be filibuster-proof in the Senate, though that process could still drag on a while if Republicans choose to draw it out with objections and amendments. Even so, it will be an anticlimax to Sunday's historic House vote, which will send the underlying Senate bill to President Obama's desk for signature.

As the House debated throughout the day, hundreds of protesters from the Tea Party movement rallied on the Capitol lawn, chanting, "Kill the bill." It was a dead-serious message, but on a glorious spring day, when cherry blossoms were just beginning to appear on the trees, the atmosphere felt more like a carnival - especially compared to the day before, when some protesters had hurled racial epithets at a few African-American members of the House. The crowd was stoked by regular appearances that lawmakers made on a balcony overlooking the protesters. "It's interesting how many faces they recognize," said Republican Congressman Steve King of Iowa. Republicans flashed handwritten signs with the word No on them, sending the crowd into rapture.

Democrats also got into the act. Sheila Jackson-Lee, a liberal Democrat from Texas, said she went down among the protesters saying, "God bless America. We're glad you're here." She also flashed two fingers in a mischievous V for victory. The response? "Someone flipped a third finger," she said.

On the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the President and his team were waiting and working the phones to make sure the final votes were nailed down. There was also the distraction of March Madness to pass the hours. One aide said of Obama: "He's in the West Wing, getting updates, dropping in on staff, and like the rest of America, examining the rubble of his bracket." At one point during the afternoon, the Commander in Chief ordered his health care czar, Nancy-Ann DeParle, to take a break and go out for a run.

With passage of the legislation, Obama has achieved the signature domestic goal of his presidency, and the most sweeping piece of social legislation since the 1960s Great Society initiatives that saw the passage of Medicare and Medicaid. Universal coverage is a goal that has eluded Presidents going at least as far back as Teddy Roosevelt, and Obama's bill comes as close to that target as anyone has. The bill would provide health coverage to an estimated 32 million additional Americans, meaning 95% of those who are legally in this country would have health insurance, up from 83% today.

The bill also promises to rein in health costs by reorienting the practice of medicine, making it more efficient, with health care providers rewarded on how well they treat their patients, rather than how much care they give them. Whether it actually achieves that latter ambition, however, is far more uncertain.

In the early years, most Americans will see only minor changes in the health care system. It will almost immediately end some insurance-company practices, such as denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. And dependent children under the age of 26 would be allowed to remain on their parents' policies if they cannot get health insurance elsewhere. Adults with pre-existing conditions would also be able to buy coverage through expanded high-risk pools.

Beginning in 2014, more far-reaching measures will begin to take effect. States would be required to set up new "exchanges," or insurance marketplaces, that would offer a variety of health care plans for small businesses and individuals who do not get coverage from their employers. Government subsidies would be available to those earning up to 400% of poverty. Employers with 50 or more workers who do not offer coverage would be fined, and for the first time, most people would be required to obtain health coverage - either at work, or by purchasing it on their own - or pay a penalty.

All of this would be paid for in two ways: By reducing spending on Medicare by hundreds of billions, and by imposing a set of new taxes, including a 40% levy on certain high-priced insurance policies.

But while the bill is headed toward becoming law, the fighting over it isn't going away anytime soon. Republicans have already issued notice that they plan to campaign in this fall's midterm elections on a pledge to repeal it. There will be constitutional challenges. And in dozens of states, legislatures are considering measures that would attempt to exempt their citizens from some of its provisions, including the requirement that individuals purchase insurance.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2010032...08599197398900