Living in the States, I would like have people comment on how good a health system there is in Canada (Socialized Medicine), as we can almost see the writing on the wall, the United States is heading in this direction.
Here is a story that I found earlier today, on the direction WE'RE heading...
Health bill poised to pass US Senate test
A broad healthcare overhaul was poised to clear its first US Senate hurdle on Saturday as the last wavering senators said they would vote to begin debate on the legislation, giving Democrats the 60 votes they need.
Democrats Blanche Lincoln and Mary Landrieu ended days of uncertainty and said they would support a procedural motion on Saturday to open debate to reform the $2.5 trillion healthcare system -- the Senate bill’s first crucial test vote.
The healthcare overhaul, President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority, would expand coverage to millions of uninsured and bar insurance practices like denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.
The stakes are high for Obama, with his political standing and legislative agenda on the line less than a year into his term.
Democrats need 60 votes to approve the motion in the 100-member Senate and have no margin for error -- they control exactly 60 votes and Republicans are united in opposition.
Landrieu and Lincoln, moderates from conservative Southern states where the overhaul is unpopular, were the last uncommitted Democrats on the 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT on Sunday) vote.
Both said they wanted the debate to begin, but they could not commit to supporting the final bill without changes.
”Although I don’t agree with everything in this bill, I have concluded that I believe that it is more important that we begin this debate to improve our nation’s healthcare system for all Americans rather than just simply drop the issue and walk away,” Lincoln said on the Senate floor.
Landrieu said she wanted changes to make healthcare more affordable, ease the burden on small businesses and rein in the growth of costs.
”It is a vote to move forward to continue the good and essential and important and imperative work that is underway,” she said on the Senate floor.
Republicans have condemned the measure as a costly and heavy-handed government intrusion in the private sector that would raise insurance premiums, reduce consumer choices and increase taxes.
’A BIG VOTE’
Republican Senator Judd Gregg, appearing on Saturday on MSNBC, said almost all Senate bills that clear the first procedural hurdle in the Senate eventually pass.
”So this is a big vote, this is a real vote. This isn’t about debating the bill,” he said.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he just wanted to get the debate started on the 2,074-page plan he unveiled on Wednesday after weeks of closed-door negotiations.
”Why would anybody be afraid, in the greatest debating society supposedly in the world, to debate healthcare?” he asked.
Once the Senate takes up the bill, the debate is expected to begin on Nov. 30 and last at least three weeks, making it unlikely Obama can sign a final bill by the end of the year.
Any differences between a Senate bill and the version passed earlier this month by the House of Representatives would have to be reconciled -- a potentially difficult task -- before the final measure can be voted on again in both houses and sent to Obama.
The legislation would spark the biggest changes in the healthcare system -- which accounts for one-sixth of the U.S. economy -- since the 1965 creation of the Medicare government health insurance plan for the elderly.
The Senate bill would require all Americans to buy insurance and would set up exchanges where they could choose among various options. It would offer subsidies to help low-income workers pay for the coverage.
Republicans have criticized its tax increases to help pay for the expanded insurance coverage. It would raise the Medicare payroll tax on high-income workers, which is used to finance Medicare, and impose a tax on high-cost ”Cadillac” insurance plans.
