Reply #124: We have taken a step.

[Dr Morbius]

It is a step in the right direction. It is a halting step, a baby step, and it is likely that we will fall down, again and again.

But we have to take this step. Yes, I grant it's a bad bill. If I believed, for a moment, that the Republican party would allow a better bill to be voted on in the Senate, I'd oppose this bill. It helps the insurance companies too much for my liking, and they and big pharma are the only ones who've been doing well in the medical care industry. It does nothing to prevent insurance companies from raising their rates at will. It mandates insurance and for many families, this will result in sacrificing some cherished luxuries, like cable TV or super high-tech cell phones. Some people will be unhappy. No doubt about it.

But here's a happy thought: maybe America will start to be healthier. Here's a less happy thought: one of our nation's biggest health problems concerns undiagnosed mental illness. As many as 60 million Americans may be suffering from depression alone, in one form or another (which can be caused by a sedentary lifestyle and consuming crap like high fructose corn syrup). If America gets healthier, America can also become mentally healthier. Less insane. Maybe we can get people to change the poor habits which in the long term can lead to depression or diabetes or other conditions.

There's a shot, a long shot to be sure but a chance, that passing this bill will result in a healthier, more rational America. That is a step we MUST take, a step long overdue. So this step, halting and unsure though it may be, is a thing to be applauded.

By the way, I understand that the House passed a Senate fix yesterday. The Senate now must deliberate on the fix, and I presume can pass it under the reconciliation process without needing to invoke cloture. Yet I wonder what would happen if a given Republican Senator decides to stand up, start talking, and not stop, in the original version of a filibuster. I do not doubt that the vast coffers of the lobbyists will be wide open to any Democratic Senators who will vote against the fix. So we are hoping, at this point, that politicians - not normally considered the most ethical of Americans - will reject enough money to get them reelected with ease and do the right thing. There is still a chance this bill will not end up on the President's desk.