I'm with Howard Dean: dump the bill, go to reconciliation.

[Nikki Stone1]

This bill does nothing to provide real competition to insurance companies. It's just 27% of taxpayer salaries to a bad business, a bad product.


The Dems keep saying that once we get this passed, we can fix it. How? TARP was passed, banks got taxpayer money with no strings, and the banking system still remains a casino that could plunge us into recession again or worse. That's a lesson for the health insurance bill.

And the healthcare insurance companies will now have dramatically more of our tax money to buy Congress to prevent any changes to their disadvantage.

[OhioChick]

1. Agreed. K&R n/t

[Nikki Stone1]

2. :)

:)

[tinrobot]

3. I'm so confused on how reconciliation works, enlighten me.

I thought both the House and Senate had to pass something, then the House and Senate bills are 'reconciled' and the differences ironed out. That way, both houses can approve the same bill.

If the Senate bill is "dumped" without passing, there would be nothing to reconcile.

Is that wrong? If so, how does this arcane process work?

[David Zephyr]

4. Yep. This bill is truly wicked now. It deserves a knife through the heart of it.

It is a wicked, cruel game played against the American people.

And I now believe it was set up from the beginning.

[Ozymanithrax]

5. If the Senate bill is killed/dumped/defeated there is no reconciliation...

Reconciliation only happens when the House and the Senate pass bills that are not identical.

So, if this Senate bill is killed, the House bill is killed. Since it has been about 16 years since we last tried to reform the Health Care system, that is probably a good guess on the length of time until the next attempt to reform health care. A lot of those 50+ million people without health care will be dead for lack of health care, and there will be a lot more than 50+ million new people without health care.