Railroad Reality: No Red Dogs

Well folks, what can only be described as an exercise in mediocrity, finally passed through congress last night. If you listen to right-wing pundits, it sounded like a railroad. More realistically, I'd compare it to a '93 Chevy Malibu. Built to market for the masses, but sorely lacking in design integrity.

Frankly, I'd like to have seen more republican involvement in the process. But to say the democrats "railroaded" the package through? What other choice did they have? When, or how, was anything approaching reform going to pass if not now? This country is facing a crises of colossal proportion in health care delivery. And, the reconciliation process referred to as the railroad vehicle, has been utilized by republicans more often than by democrats. (Another misinformation campaign.)

Why is it that when we need centrist ideas and bipartisan effort to resolve an issue, we always see the Blue Dogs rise up. Where are the Red Dogs? Where are the truly centrist bipartisan republicans? I thought they existed. Now? Not so sure. Out the rich varied palette of communities across all 50 states, constituents are represented by no less than 178 republican congresspersons. How many of them voted for reform? Zero. Nada. Zilch. Now you tell me: that isn't lockstep obstructionism?

Don't get me wrong. I'm pleased that after decades of failed attempts, at least something resembling health care reform finally passed. Problem is, this legislation does little more than subsidize health care insurance corporations at taxpayer expense. They will be getting millions of new customers over the next five years. Think that's a mistake? Think the fat cats at WellPoint and Humana aren't tickled pink about this bill? That's because they had more of a voice in it's construction than you did.

So what's next? HealthReform 2.0 is what we need now. To address some of the core issues that were left out of this bill. Incentivizing preventative care would be first on the list. And yes, some form of tort reform. Standardized digital billing and records would drive down costs. But, the bottom line is we can't stop now. Don't stop engaging. Don't stop writing congress. Tell them real cost control is what we need next. And we need it now.

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