Undead

Let's talk about Health care. Again. If you've been paying any attention to the news or what the pretentious politically-informed pricks in your study hall are ranting about, then you'll know the Health Care Debate has already beaten the horse into a pile of extra-chunky salsa and properly disposed of the thing in one of the waste recepticles convieniently located at all theater exits (cause that's all politics is nowadays).

And dead things at the bottom of trash cans brings me effortlessly to the abortion issue, in which fear of federal funds to fund abortions has swayed several congressmen into dissenting the bill (and by congressmen I mean house democrats, because republicans never change thier mind.) Bart Stupak of Michigan and several others said they would vote against the Senate bill as written but would consider supporting it with significant changes. Stupak leads a coalition of conservative Democrats who may play a key role in the health care vote calculus. These lawmakers favor modifying the Senate health care bill to include an amendment from Stupak that will further restrict ways abortions can be funded. During the House health care overhaul debate, 64 Democrats voted in favor of the Stupak amendment.

In rebuttal, House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, who recently discussed his concerns over the abortion issue with Stupak, said Monday night: "If they brought the bill down, they're not stopping any abortions. They are stopping millions of people from getting health insurance."

But what is this health care bill, you may ask. What is it going to do? Well, the whole thing is one long list of reform measures and political necessities, but there are a few things that would be felt immediately by you, the constituant:


Eliminating caps: If you buy a policy, a health care company will not be able to place a lifetime -- or annual -- cap on how much they will cover. This is will be especially important for those diagnosed with serious illnesses, such as cancer, who face steep medical bills.

Pre-existing conditions: The Senate bill includes $5 billion in immediate support to provide temporary coverage to uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions. The money would help you until the new health care exchanges in the Senate bill are put into effect in 2014.

Children and pre-existing conditions: Another thing that's going to be very important, CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger said, is that there will be no exclusion of children with pre-existing conditions.

Dependent children: Your children will be covered until the age of 26.

"Children who are over 21 and may not have a job that pays their health insurance can still be on your policy," Borger said. "That's very important to a lot of families."

Small business tax credits: Those tax credits are aimed at helping small businesses buy health insurance for their employees. Tax credits of up to 50 percent of premiums will be available to firms that offer coverage, according to the Senate's plan.

Preventive care: All new insurance plans, Obama said, will be required to offer free preventive care in order to "catch preventable illnesses and diseases on the front end."

Appeals process: A new independent appeals process will be set up for those who feel that they were unfairly denied a claim by their insurance company.

Help for seniors: If you fall into the Medicare Part D Drug Benefit coverage gap, dubbed the "donut hole," you will receive $250 to help pay for prescriptions.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/16/house.vote.count/index.htmlP

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/16/health.care.immediate/index.html