History in the making

If the Republicans donÕt like the bill or providing access to health insurance to millions of people, they only have themselves to blame. Ironically, if they had accepted ReidÕs request to work with him on legislation, there wouldnÕt have been a need for the deals.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has come under unfair criticism for the way he has handled the historic health care bill. In many ways, the Nevada Democrat is in a no-win situation — critics on the right howl that itÕs an expansion of government while some critics on the left complain the bill didnÕt do enough.

Some, like Gov. Jim Gibbons, have ludicrously accused Reid of ÒbriberyÓ for the compromises he made to get the legislation approved. Who knew that negotiating and making concessions to arrive at an agreement — the same way business people across the country do every day — is a criminal act?

Gibbons also claimed that the bill is Òshameful and does nothing to increase access for Nevadans to health care.Ó Where Gibbons gets his facts is a mystery. The bill would eventually provide affordable coverage for more than 500,000 Nevadans who donÕt have insurance now, and lower the premiums for 328,000 Nevadans on Medicare. It would also provide tax credits for more than 300,000 Nevadans to purchase insurance and 24,000 small businesses to make coverage more affordable for their employees.

This bill furthers ReidÕs legacy on health care. Over the years, he has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for Nevada to improve health care, including money to build hospitals and improve cancer treatment.

GibbonsÕ criticism is much like that of his Republican colleagues who sound like toddlers throwing tantrums. Because it wasnÕt what they wanted, the whole thing is, in the words of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a Òmonstrosity.Ó

If the Republicans donÕt like the bill or providing access to health insurance to millions of people, they only have themselves to blame. Ironically, if they had accepted ReidÕs request to work with him on legislation, there wouldnÕt have been a need for the deals. Reid was forced to find compromises to gain the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster.

The Republican critics of the health care legislation are just trying to divert attention from the real issue. There are more than 31 million people in the country without health insurance who would eventually be eligible for coverage. The critics donÕt like to talk about the human toll. What do people without insurance do when they get seriously sick or injured? Suck it up? Face overwhelming bills — and potentially bankruptcy?

These same critics also fail to mention the high cost to the taxpayers who bear the cost of the uninsured using medical services that either get passed on to the taxpayers or the insured in the form of higher costs. When someone who does not receive routine medical care finally goes to see a doctor, the costs are likely to be significantly higher because the health problems are often exacerbated because they havenÕt been previously treated.

What many people are missing is the historic nature of the legislation and the incredible effort it took to accomplish it. President Barack Obama noted that seven presidents, Democrats and Republicans, have taken up the cause of health care reform since Teddy Roosevelt called for it in 1912.

ÒTime and time again, such efforts have been blocked by special interest lobbyists whoÕve perpetuated a status quo that works better for the insurance industry than it does for the American people,Ó he said Thursday after the Senate passed the plan.

There is still work to do on the health care bill — House and Senate negotiators will have to hammer out the differences in their versions of the legislation. That could be difficult, yet it is expected they will reach agreement in the weeks to come. Let the critics say what they will, but the health care bill will go down as one of the momentous pieces of legislation in the history of Congress.

Some observers have compared ReidÕs work with other great leaders in the SenateÕs history, particularly Lyndon B. Johnson, who was able to muscle the Civil Rights Act through Congress. Like the health care bill, the civil rights legislation was criticized and not perfect, but it significantly addressed a major issue in America that had been ignored for too long.

The bottom line is that, if the health care bill receives final approval, millions of Americans will have a chance to receive affordable health care and that will make this a better country. And it wouldnÕt have happened without Harry Reid.