Health Insurance Articles
Health Reform Pitting Democrat Against Democrat
2009-11-23
The debate over health reform is a long-standing one in the United States. As early as the 1950s, Congress began to take up the issue of healthcare reform. When private health insurance became widely available and linked to employment in the 1970s, Congress needed to step in again to set regulations. The recent passage in the House of Representatives of a bill calling for wider health insurance coverage has served to pit Democrats against each other.
Liberal members of the party want the health reform because they believe that all Americans deserve to have health insurance. Some people, especially those who are unemployed or self-employed, as well as those with major health problems, cannot get coverage under the current system. Many low-income people are unable to find affordable coverage as well. With changes in the way health insurance works, coverage will be available, according to these Democrats. The concern on the other side of the Democratic Party - and within the Republican Party - is that the cost of the bill will bankrupt the country. The Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan group dedicated to analyzing the potential cost of legislation, placed a $1.3-trillion price tag on the heath insurance bill. For fiscally conservative Democrats, that cost simply is too staggering to make it something Congress should pass.
The result of all this party infighting has been a media blitz calling into question the Democrats on the "against" side. Though the split is much larger than typically seen in party circles, the majority of Democrats still are proponents of the bill. Most left-wing organizations, such as MoveOn.org, are on the side of health insurance coverage for all as well. These groups have a significant donor list and mobilized their troops to donate for opposition ads against the Democrats who opposed the bill.
Another potential problem for Democrats on both sides is that primary challenges are likely to increase for the 2010 mid-term elections. In most places, an incumbent running again will get the automatic support of his party. Now there are suggestions afoot that many Democrats in the House may find themselves with a primary fight on their hands - a fight that most incumbents are not prepared to take on. The health reform bill is likely to be one of the key issues coming up in those primary challenges.
Americans rarely see their leaders in such inter-party bickering. While there typically may be one or two elected officials who cross party lines for a vote, this Democrat against Democrat debacle now playing out is an oddity in American government and opens the doors for good debate about how and why elected officials take the stances they do.
