The First Step.

Last night, the House passed the first major Health Care legislation in a century. It was quite a fight, an exciting one to witness and remember. Is it the Health Care Reform Bill I wanted? No. Did important provisions relating to access and choice get left out? Yes. Did the health insurance companies benefit? Yes. But... did... we... begin? Yes.

I was disappointed when one by one, important reform items like a public option got left out or compromised. I cringed when the Right to Life Stupak group brought anti-abortion language front and center with its demands that President Obama repeat in an Executive Order what already is law before they would vote yes. This was political posturing for re-eletion purposes in their districts and I did not like it. But in the end, a step was taken and it was poignant that Rep. Dingell from Michigan whose father gaveled into law Medicare legislation 45 years ago lived to see his father's dream of healthcare for all Americans become a reality. There isn't a Republican or Democrat that would or could reverse Social Security or Medicare now and soon that will be the same for this legislation. People can now get and keep health insurance. It is a beginning.

I find this even more interesting if you look at some history on this issue. Remember, this is not the first time there has been an attempt to get health care for every American. Many have asked, if the Republicans wanted reform, why didn't they do it? They had eight years under Bush to do so and they did nothing. But maybe this got through because it really is a Republican piece of legislation disguised in Democrat's clothing. On this point, I discovered an interesting historical perspective commentary on Taylor Marsh's political website (http://www.taylormarsh.com/).

Marsh writes:

From throwing the American people into a system without any choice, providing private insurance companies with new customers, to using women’s rights to get it done while progressive Democrats enabled it to happen, what Democrats have done is produce a Republican health care bill that Richard Nixon would have loved.

From Steve Pearlstein back in August 2009:It was back in 1971 and President Nixon was concerned that he would once again have to face a Kennedy in the next year’s election — in this case a Kennedy with a proposal to extend health care to all Americans. Feeling the need to offer an alternative, Nixon asked Congress to require for the first time that all companies provide a health plan for their employees, with federal subsidies for low-income workers. Nixon was particularly intrigued by a new idea called health maintenance organizations, which held the promise of providing high-quality care at lower prices by relying on salaried physicians to manage and coordinate patient care.

At first, Kennedy rejected Nixon’s proposal as nothing more than a bonanza for the insurance industry that would create a two-class system of health care in America. But after Nixon won reelection, Kennedy began a series of secret negotiations with the White House that almost led to a public agreement. In the end, Nixon backed out after receiving pressure from small-business owners and the American Medical Association. And Kennedy himself decided to back off after receiving heavy pressure from labor leaders, who urged him to hold out for a single-payer system once Democrats recaptured the White House in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

(con't from Marsh...) Yes, Democrats have rallied behind a bill that Republicans—or at least large numbers of them—should love. It is built on a series of principles that Republicans espoused for years.

Republicans have said that they do not want to destroy the private insurance market. This bill not only preserves that market but strengthens it by bringing in millions of new customers. The plan before Congress does not call for a government “takeover” of health care. It provides subsidies so more people can buy private insurance. Republicans always say they are against “socialized medicine.” Not only is this bill nothing like a “single-payer” health system along Canadian or British lines. It doesn’t even include the “public option” that would have allowed people voluntarily to buy their insurance from the government.

… [...] You could argue that Democrats have learned from Republicans. Some might say that Democrats have been less than true to their principles.

But there is a simpler conclusion: Democrats, including President Obama, are so anxious to get everyone health insurance that they are more than willing to try a market-based system and hope it works. It’s a shame the Republicans can no longer take “yes” for an answer.

And my final thoughts.....Just like everyone agrees that it took a Republican (Nixon) to open the doors to China, maybe it took the Democrats adopting a Republican healthcare plan for this reform to pass. Isn't it ironic that a health care bill more in keeping with Republican ideas was passed by Democrats without a single Republican vote?