Choose Your Own Senate Health Care Adventure

Choose Your Own Senate Health Care Adventure; Open Congress.Com

Now that the committees in the Senate have finished their work on the health care legislation, the process moves behind the scenes to negotiations between the White House and the Democratic leadership. The negotiators have already begun making decisions about what will be included in the final bill that will come to the Senate floor in the coming weeks.

This is one of the most important stages in Congress’ health care reform process, but it’s happening in complete secrecy. The negotiations are basically an informal process of arm twisting and deal making that are taking place in closed-door discussions beyond the public’s view. The only chances we’ll get to see in will be from anonymous “inside sources” and prepared statements from the people involved. For one of the most important parts of the most contentious national policy debate in recent history, that’s not good enough.

Below, I’ve put together a table showing the major differences between the bill approved by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the bill as amended (soon to be approved) by the Finance Committee that are being ironed out by the negotiators. It’s not meant to be comprehensive – it only covers the areas of health care reform that were addressed by both committees. Financing and Medicare provisions, for example, which fall solely under the jurisdiction of the Finance Committee, are not included.

Click here for the table and the rest of the article.

Comment: The majority of US citizens are against this legislation, and if the state legislators really knew what was in this bill and how it is going to effect their budgets, they would be up and arms over it too. But it's being debated and created in secret. Why is something so good for the US being created in secret?

The federal government and the statists are cramming this down our throats. Yet most of us have been conditioned to except this sort of thing and do nothing about it. Folks we have to wake up; our country is on the brink of economic ruin and the oligarchs continue to squeeze what's left of our very livelihood through this agenda, and let's not forget the cap and trade crap.

We have to stop them, and the first step is to take back the powers from these silly 100 who are using it to help a select few profit; and make no mistake about it, while many will lose their wealth though this legislation, primarily the doctors, many will become very rich (those on the industry and insurance side). We must repeal the 17th Amendment before it's too late. Economic ruin is right around the corner; we need to wake up.