Its proponents say it's long overdue and will extend medical coverage to 96 percent of Americans and at the same time make it more affordable for everyone. Its detractors say it will kill jobs, drive insurance rates even higher and hurt American families.
It's known as the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), and the public can now read the 1,990-page document for themselves online at non-partisan Web sites like OpenCongress.org or at the Nacogdoches Public Library.
Staff photo by Trent Jacobs |
Director of the Nacogdoches Public Library Anne Barker holds the nearly 15-pound bill that Democrats in Washington D.C. say will give millions of uninsured Americans proper health care and drive down prices for the rest. Republicans like Louie Gohmert (R-Tyler) feel like the bill is being rushed through, so his office delivered the entire 1,990 piece of legislation to local libraries across East Texas.
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Last Thursday, Democrats introduced what could be one of the most historic pieces of legislation in American history. It's the culmination of an intense months-long debate over the future of health care in this country.
By Saturday, every single page of the final health-care bill was sitting at a table in the local library, courtesy of U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert's (R-Tyler) office, for the public to examine. The bill is expected to be voted on by the end of this week, much to Gohmert's and his fellow House Republicans' chagrin.
In addition to delivering several copies of the bill to libraries around East Texas, Gohmert's office issued a press release calling into question the transparency of the crafting of the bill and criticizing the methods used to introduce it on the floor.
"The Speaker (Nancy Pelosi, D-California) not only skipped the subcommittee, she did not even bring forward the bill that had members of Congress and countless Americans reading it. She had undisclosed, special interests craft it in secret and thrust it on America with very little time to review the 1,990 pages. This brings change, but it sure kills hope," Gohmert said in his press release issued over the weekend.
Gohmert also said in the release that he thinks the bill will literally "transform" the lives of all Americans, but not for the better.
"Despite months of tea parties, town halls and honest feedback from many East Texans and people all over the country, Speaker Pelosi and the majority leadership have re-packaged and re-presented a government takeover of health care, for which most Americans have already overwhelmingly expressed their rejection. I truly hope people will look for themselves at the dangers in this bill and urge their family and friends to continue to make their voices heard. Demand that Speaker Pelosi immediately drop any plan that lets the government takeover your health care decisions."
On Monday, Gohmert and other GOP leaders called for an "Emergency House Call" on the steps of the Capitol building on Thursday, which would be the earliest the bill could be voted on in order for Democrats to keep their promise that citizens would have three business days to view the bill in its entirety. Republicans are asking the public to converge on the Capitol to sound off against the bill before it is voted on by the Democratic majority House of Representatives.
According to OpenCongress.org, the final health care bill will cost an estimated $894 billion and seeks to expand coverage to the estimated 40 million Americans living without insurance by lowering the cost of health care and making the overall health care system more efficient.
It will include a government-run insurance plan (public option), which is intended to bring down insurance rates by competing with private companies. For the first time ever, all Americans will be required to have health insurance, and insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
Employers with payrolls over $500,000 annually will be obligated to provide insurance for their employees or pay a fine based on a percentage of their payroll. And, starting in 2013, the bill would require all individuals to have insurance coverage or pay an annual fine capped at 2.5 percent of their income.
