Health Care Reform Goes Political

Happy New Year! I pray the Lord will bless you in amazing ways in 2010. While the calendar has changed, the battles have not. Health care reform is still first on the agenda in DC. For the next several weeks, Democrats in the House and Senate will be working behind the scenes to create a bill they believe can pass both chambers and accomplish their goals. These will be closed-door, invitation-only meetings, far from the press or anyone who might object to their plans.

To get an excellent picture of the political situation the bill creates for the Democrat leadership, I encourage you to read this article by James Capretta and Yuval Levin at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. You can be sure the Democrat leadership is well-aware of these issues and is looking for a way to salvage their mess.

I encourage you to be in continual communication with your congressman and senators. They need to be reminded constantly how their constituents feel about the current state of the health care bills. They also need to hear what you object to that is not currently in play. For example, someone may still try to insert a trigger in the final bill that will trigger a public option if insurance costs do not come down. One thing you can be sure of--they are certainly not going to decline under the current House or Senate versions of health care reform, which means the public option would be triggered. They also need to hear from those who object to the use of federal funds to pay for elective abortions, either directly, through some third party, or through government subsidies. I'm sure you have other concerns as well.

Blessings on you and yours,

Barrett