I think it's time for liberals to start looking at the health care reform bill for what it is - a reasonably good start that will undoubtedly need some improvements along the way. What' good about it ? Aside from the obvious controls on the insurance industry related to pre-existing conditions and bumping people off their rolls, there's a huge expansion of cost-effective, accessible community health centers, thanks to Bernie Sanders, and the launch of an array of experiments in cost-control, which Atwul Gawande, a physician who has been following the reform debate for the New Yorker, considers more promising than imposing a "master plan" via sweeping national legislation.
IMHO it's most important for people who support universal health insurance to quit worrying about what Joe Lieberman was able to obstruct and start paying attention to how the details of this new bill are being implemented. It's about creating a dialog with fellow citizens and our representatives about "reforming the reform" as strengths and weaknesses of the bill reveal themselves in practice. The terms of any future health care reform have already been transformed - it's all about making our hybrid system of coverage work effectively. The principle and goal of universality has been established. This is a big deal.
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