It is obvious many of us who consider ourselves progressives that we were disappointed by the HCR bill. It was clearly watered down to nearly nothing but so many tried to say "something is better than nothing". Well as it stands now it turns out something is nothing. The Obama administration has issued dozens of waivers to big insurers and companies like McDonald's. They did this in an effort to counter threats by health insurers to abandon markets or refuse to sell certain policies etc. The waivers allow companies to maintain coverage far below the new law's standards.
It is obvious many of us who consider ourselves progressives that we were disappointed by the HCR bill. It was clearly watered down to nearly nothing but so many tried to say "something is better than nothing". Well as it stands now it turns out something is nothing. The Obama administration has issued dozens of waivers to big insurers and companies like McDonald's. They did this in an effort to counter threats by health insurers to abandon markets or refuse to sell certain policies etc. The waivers allow companies to maintain coverage far below the new law's standards according to a new New York Times article.
In my opinion the bill that passed is a joke and this is additional evidence of that. It was a gift horse to the insurance industry and it was obvious they would find ways to get around any meaningful changes. It is obvious corporations and special interests still own the day despite our long desired Democratic majority.
With all of this in mind I have fallen into the "enthusiasm gap" that has been widely talked about. I can no longer fool myself into thinking watered down lobbyist written crap is a "good start" or "better than nothing" because it never goes anywhere beyond that. At the very least it will likely be well over a decade before anything further and of real meaning comes up with Health Care Reform. The truth is our political system is entirely inept regardless of party and fundamental changes to it are needed.
For the full NYT article go here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...