Health Care Reform: By and For the People?

              Late on Saturday November 8th, the House of Representatives passed a health care bill that was championed by President Barack Obama. With a final tally of 220-215, the victory of the Democratic Party was a narrow one. In fact 39 members of the blue party and all but one Republican, voted against the bill.

            The bill, also known as The Affordable Health Care for America Act, will give coverage to about 96% of Americans and will not deny anyone help based on pre-existing conditions. So why is there such an opposition to this historic bill? Simple. While it’s good in some respects, it’s also bad in others.

First off, despite Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promise that the bill “won’t add a dime to the deficit”, the plan would cost about $1 trillion dollars over a course of 10 years. This would result, as many have speculated, an increase in taxes and insurance fees for Americans, a notion that is backed in a statement by The Republican National Committee.

The statement says that thanks to the likes of President Obama and Pelosi, Americans will become part of “a government-run health care experiment that will increase families’ health care costs, increase the deficit, increase taxes on small business, on the middle class, and cut Medicare.”

The bill has also cut off public funding for abortions, which has been a hotly contested topic in this debate.

In a press conference at the White House Sunday, Obama commended the House’s decision. “This is their moment, this is our moment, to live up to the trust that the American people have placed in us…this is our moment to deliver.”

But is it? Are Obama and all those Representatives who voted for the bill really honoring the trust of the Americans? Some people don’t think so. In comment sections on several news sites, Americans have voiced their discontent on this piece of legislation.  

Even some Stockton students aren’t entirely happy with this outcome. Sophomore Katie Laffan has her own opinions. “Our generation will have to pay for the bill which means more taxes. Also I think that if Medicare and Medicaid are taken away we’ll have no benefits when we’re older.” 

Still, this bill has not yet been signed into law. The Senate needs to pass their own version of the bill and only then will the combined effort of the Senate and the House come together in one final document. That is the piece of legislation that will find its way onto the president’s desk. It has become an obvious fact that things are changing, just like Obama promised. But is this the change that American voted for?