Health Care Debate Passes Senate, begins after Thanksgiving

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Without a vote to spare, the U.S. Senate voted on Saturday to open debate on health care legislation 60-39. The passage of the cloture vote does not guarantee passage of the bill in a later vote, but it does allow Senator Harry Reid, and the other hard left Democrats, to begin their persuasion techniques to convince the moderate Democrats to do more than simply vote for cloture, but to make government-run health care law.

The Senate bill claims it will extend health benefits to roughly 31 million Americans who are now uninsured (which is still short of their claim of 47 million uninsured), at a cost of $848 billion over 10 years, through a federal program, despite the fact that the U.S. Constitution gives the U.S. Government no authority to do so.

The House of Representatives recently approved its own health care bill by the narrow vote of 220 to 215, and the House bill is very similar to the Senate legislation, with a few differences that Democrats believe they can iron out.

In response to opposition, the argument by the Democrats is that "the Republicans had control of the Congress before, and they did not solve the health care crisis."

That's because there is no health care crisis - and the problems the industry does have is the result of government intervention in the form of regulations, and restrictions on the industry.

Interestingly enough, the left is already making preparations to ration health care, which is what will happen if a leftist health care proposal becomes law. Your choice will be taken away from you, and given to some Washington bureaucrat that knows nothing about you, medicine, or the liberty of choice. They will decide when and if you get care, and will rationalize their choices with arguments regarding your behavior, and false studies that make ridiculous findings such as the recent ones that proclaimed women no longer need mammograms until age 50 (so much for early detection), and that young women don't require cervical cancer screenings or their first pap test, until age 21, and that they should be screened less often than recommended in the past.

Interesting how for decades the Democrats demanded preventive medicine with HMO type plans, but once it looks like their government faction will be paying, suddenly preventive medicine is a no-no.

Furthermore, shouldn't people have a choice as to whether they wish to be tested earlier, or later, based on their own beliefs, or the advice of their doctor? Why should government be able to make those kinds of choices for you?

Even worse, with technology now able to determine someone's genetic disposition for disease, or defects, will government withhold care from those they believe will cost too much?

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Senate Votes to Open Health Care Debate - New York Times

A Ban on Genetic Discrimination - New York Times

Guidelines Push Back Age for Cervical Cancer Tests - New York Times

Mammogram Debate Took Group by Surprise - New York Times