Jeff Sandstoe / Roundup
With a final vote of 219 to 212 in the House of Representatives, the United States government has passed a historic health care reform bill.
In an attempt at bipartisanship there were concessions made by the Democrats in the bill in order to earn some Republican support. The end result was a weaker bill that passed with not a single Conservative vote.
People are quick to dismiss health care reform for various reasons; “It won’t work,” “It’s increasing the size of government,” “It costs too much.”
None of these are good reasons. There’s an old saying, “You don’t know until you try.”
It’s easy to be pessimistic and not support something because you think it might fail. It’s much harder to acknowledge that our country has a major problem, and to take the needed steps to try and improve it.
Action is tougher than apathy.
Granted, this bill is not as great as it should have been, but it is a step in the right direction.
By the House failing to include things such as the public option, the impact of the reform has been greatly diminished. However, with tens of millions of uninsured in the country, something had to be done.
America is a capitalist society, where the “bottom line” means everything. In terms of innovation and ingenuity, this is why we are the leading superpower in the world.
Money drives us, it motivates us. The focus of this reform, however, should not be on the amount of money this is going to cost, but on the amount of people that it will help.
There are an estimated 30 million US citizens currently without health insurance. This
number is unacceptable. The passing of the bill will make sure that health insurance will now be more readily available for all Americans.
Soon, parents will be able to keep their children on their health insurance plans until they turn 27. Also, it will be easier for small businesses to provide its employees with coverage.
It’s not all about money. The moment we all realize this is the moment when we’ll finally be able to focus on the things that really matter.
Money may pay the rent but compassion is what makes us human.