The Current Status of Health Care

The famous Health Care Reform Bill has now passed on from the House of Representatives to the Senate. Now, each of the Senators are debating the pros and cons of the Health Care Bill while also proposing some amendments. I have also been watching and listening to the debates closely on C-SPAN 2 and I have noticed that one of Maryland's senators, Barbara Mikulski has proposed an a amendment that many Democrats and some republicans favor.

Mikulski's proposal is directed primarily at women and their health by providing insurance coverage certain examinations that can be costly to the average woman, such as mammograms. Mikulski's reasoning in doing so was that women pay "for too much and receive far less treatment". Right now, only women over 50 can receive insurance coverage for a cancer screening which is ridiculous considering how cancer effects all ages--not just those 50 and older. Mikulski also reinforces that "without [her] amendment, there would be no guarantee that women under 50 would be covered for mammograms, no guarantee of an annual women’s health exam that would include screenings for heart disease, and no guarantee that women would have access to this preventive care at no cost".

From what I've seen, Mikulski's amendment is being talked about much in the debate. It seems as if many of the senators, regardless of their party, have female family members that already have been affected by cancer so this amendment tugs at their heart a bit. She's receiving more praise than criticism and I feel that they might adopt certain aspects of her amendment.

I've also noticed that during the senate debate, republicans just seem to be reiterating the same "facts" over and over again--"the government can't run health care and that private practice must be honored". The Democrats strike back every single time stating that "there is still a public option; whether the citizens choose private institutions or use the new government issued plan, it's up to them". The Democrats seem to have a stronghold in their cases for the bill while also providing legitimate cases defending republican rebuttals.

To be honest, I believe that this bill is going to pass. The Democrats seem to really be making their points rather than just repeating the same nonsense over and over again. Watching the Senate debate directly eliminates bias of the media; all these observations were made by myself. I would strongly encourage my classmates to do the same rather than relying on biased news sources. After reviewing some peoples' blog posts, it seems as if they lack the basic understanding as to what the whole Health Care Proposition actually is. Many often make obscenely fictitious claims due to the lack of understanding. I'm glad that the debate is being televised because this allows every one to make their own opinion on the Health Care Bill however I feel that people should at least take a small portion of the day to remain updated on the constantly changing status of the Senate's view on the Health Care Bill.