Obama’s Final Healthcare Reform Push

I realize this is an extremely difficult issue to solve or we would have solved it long before now ["Mort Zuckerman: Obama's Healthcare Focus Is Misguided," usnews.com]. I am hopeful we will pass this and then improve the bill as we move forward just like we have done with many of the important pieces of legislation like Medicare, Social Security, and the various Civil Rights Acts. I wanted only to make the point that the rhetoric of "Americans not wanting this reform bill" is just not true. I fit the description of the "middle class" definition. My costs for medical rise every year with my premiums; my wages do not. My wife has a serious disability with high medical costs and we sometimes find ourselves having to choose between care and food. It is just not right for any American to have to make that choice. If government can serve any purpose it should be to control medical costs for its citizenry. Again, this is a sticking point between the two parties. I just see it as an injustice to allow American families to have to struggle over medical costs. Just like I find it unfair for retired people to struggle in that same way. It's just not fair after working all their lives they have to cut their pills in half to stretch the supply until they are no longer in that "donut hole."

Comment by Chuck of CA

I have paid for my own health insurance for almost 10 years and have seen it go up a lot. The only thing that brought it down was in-state competition (from another insurance company that started selling in North Carolina), which cut it in half three years ago. It's still going up, but government-sponsored care will never work. I was in the military for six years. The waste and abuse were rampant 20 years ago. If Medicare and VA care is so great, why don't all federal employees use it? Why don't they pay into Social Security? People are tired of Congress and the White House telling us what is best for us while running the opposite direction. They are basically gutless and do whatever it takes to get re-elected (both sides). If we started getting rid of the liars and cheats, we would take care of 95 percent of the problem pretty quick. Just like with the problems in public schools...there are no consequences for bad actions.

Comment by John Nowak of NC 

Obama was elected to pass health reform. It was his number one domestic priority and he was given a clear mandate. Democrats can either stand with him, or do nothing and face the voters on their own in the fall. Either way, the GOP won't give an inch. So how about showing some courage and doing the right thing. Ignore the naysayers, leverage the power, and spend the political capital to pass reform now.

Comment by Allan Hoving of CT 

Mr. Zuckerman, in my opinion your article was well written and made some excellent points. President Obama appears determined to push through his socialist agenda at all costs. Everything else is of secondary consideration. He promised change and we are getting change. It is just that most voters thought he meant change for the better. He also promised a new hope and now most of us have a new hope. We hope that America can survive this administration.

Comment by Marlin Winslow of UT 

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