Word: reformers
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...time when 46 million people lack health insurance and rising premiums outpace the growth in wages, healthcare required far-reaching reform. Left to the status quo, more and more Americans would lose coverage due to soaring costs, and system inefficiencies restricting the quality of care would engulf the industry. And with retiring Baby Boomers mounting additional stress on providers, the situation called for bold and decisive action. This legislation puts America on track to solve these pressing issues by insuring 32 million people and enacting consumer protections that will counter the host of problems plaguing the system...
...reality, although supporters hail this as an epic achievement, the final product is not ideal and the effort to reform a broken industry is far from over. Ultimately, millions of Americans will remain uninsured, a problem which deserves serious attention down the road. Also, while the new programs will bend the healthcare cost curve, it does not break it, and Congress must take further action to make insurance more affordable in the future...
Meanwhile, amidst the muddling political circus in Congress, Obama and his administration showed tenacity in refusing to forfeit their vision for reform. Campaigning on the promise of fixing America’s unfair and unsustainable healthcare system, Obama put reform at the top of his political agenda and did not allow the debate to disappear from the public consciousness. As calls to throw out the bill and begin from scratch grew raucous upon Brown’s stunning election in January, Obama and his team increased their efforts by appealing directly to members of both parties and their constituents...
...fact not surprising to anyone who has followed the healthcare reform battle in the last year is that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, now signed into law, managed to pass through both chambers of Congress without a single Republican voting “Yea.” In comparison, another landmark bill passed 75 years ago, the Social Security Act of 1935, passed the House 372 votes to 33, with 81 Republicans voting in support. Thirty years later in 1965, the Medicaid and Medicare amendments were added with a House margin of 307-to-116, with 70 Republicans...
What is remarkable, however, is that when first proposed, healthcare reform would have in fact most benefitted the predominantly Republican states, where disparities in healthcare are the greatest as reported by UnitedHealth Foundation’s annual rankings. Of the 10 unhealthiest states in 2009, nine voted for John McCain in 2008. In 2004, all of the 15 worst ranking states backed George W. Bush...