As of late, there's still been some progressive holdouts who've been advertising that the Bill should be killed. These are the same FDL folks who are thinking of primarying Sanders, witchhunting Rahm, and demonizing wives of Senators who despise us.
These folks are not thinking in your interest.
Wendell Potter: Pass the Bill
Here's another Progressive Hero coming out FOR the bill. It's Wendell Potter, former Insurance Executive.
But even if all the problems of the Senate bill can't be fixed in conference, Congress must send the president a bill to sign -- and soon. My position on this puts me at odds with many of the wonderful reform advocates I have met in the six months that have passed since I switched sides in this national debate -- going from being a spokesman for the health insurance industry to being a vocal critic of it -- in testimony before Senator Jay Rockefeller's Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee last June.
Over the past few days, some organizations that have worked so hard for many years for comprehensive reform, especially those that have advocated for a single payer system like Canada's, have joined groups on the opposite end of the political and philosophical spectrum in calling for defeat of the legislation. "Kill the Bill" is in the subject line of many emails I've been getting lately.
I understand their frustration, but I believe that when they stop and think about the real consequences of what they demanding, they will realize that for all its disappointing compromises and flaws, even the Senate-passed bill should be viewed as a foundation that can be built upon in years to come. Ted Kennedy, who advocated for a "Medicare for All" type system before many of today's activists were born, would truly have been proud of this beginning. He would not have liked everything about the bill, that's for sure, but he understood what it means to live in a political world and that compromises -- even big ones -- almost always have to be made on the journey toward an ultimate destination.
This is a disappointment. There is no question on that, however, the disappointment is smaller compared to the relative largeness of the legislation. Let's try to get the best bill out of Conference as possible, not kill it.
Here's some things I would like to see:
Antitrust Exemption: I think this would be an excellent way to show that the bill isn't subservient to the healthcare industry while taking away the one thing that they want most. Unfortunately Sen. Nelson asked that it be taken out in the Senate Bill. However, Sen. Nelson seems more interested in maintaining his abortion related language and ensuring that the public option is out. I think there's a good chance for this to be included in the final product.
Employer Mandate: This is something that is much needed in the final bill, as Harry Reid's variation on Max Baucus' Free-Rider Provision is still too cute by half. Unfortunately there's a lot of lukewarm opposition on the Senate side, including Sen. Stabenow as being against it. Though if the House pushes hard enough it could be included in final passage.
Allowing HHS to negotiate Drug prices: This would be a way to allow cheaper prices in this country while circumventing the reimportation "safety" problem. I don't know if they'll allow this through the FDA/WH but it should be in the final bil.
National Exchange v. State Exchange: Get the National Exchange from the House Bill and replace the Senate's with the House's should allow a national structure in lowering insurance prices through forced competition. Couple this with the Senate's restriction preventing insurers who jack up rates before the exchange kicks in from having access to the exchange would make a better product.
These are just a sample of things. Let's have a good discussion.
UPDATE: Here's some info to back up the Antitrust Exemption repeal being in the final bill:
Liberals have called attention to the repeal’s notable absence in the latest Senate package, and backers of the repeal have urged House Democrats to fight to keep the repeal in the final bill.
But congressional Democrats have little room to deviate from the Senate version of the legislation. "It is very clear that the bill — the final bill — to pass in the United States Senate is going to have to be very close to the bill that has been negotiated here," said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) on "Fox News Sunday." "Otherwise, you will not get 60 votes in the United States Senate."
Whether the House repeal language will survive in a House-Senate conference negotiation over the final version of the bill is largely dependent on what Nelson is willing to give up. In an interview with CNN, Nelson laid out several provisions in the House bill that are deal-breakers for him, but he did not single out the antitrust exemption as one such deal-breaker.