Emotion are running high (I'm just as pissed off as everyone else is), but we have to acknowledge that the HCR process is not over. Broader regulation on insurers is a good thing, and universal coverage will save lives.
Insurance coverage is neither going to drain the system nor save it. What would help would be dealing with prices directly. Unfortunately, this bill doesn't do very much of that.
We are all concerned that the bill will force people to buy insurance that they cannot afford.
However, we have yet to see any CBO report, and do not know what the House will add to the bill. I also have seen little more than speculation to back up that claim.
We can go back and address prices as a deficit reducing measure - armed with the CBO scoring. The public option will live on. I don't see why reconciliation can't be used after the fact in another bill.
Once universal coverage is set in stone, there will be no undoing it. Perfecting the system will take time, but we're saving lives NOW.
I know that my mother, who has had cancer twice, will most likely not be denied coverage after her COBRA expires. That makes it worth the battle for me.
This is a victory - not the victory that we wanted, but it's still a beginning. Let's not pack up our toys and go home. Vent, cry...but at the end of the day, we're moving the ball forward.