www.healthcaremanumission.com

Late last year, the United States Congress passed into law the largest health care reform bill in American history. It came about due to concerns of the rising cost of health care in this country and the lack of coverage for some Americans.

It was an issue in President Bill Clinton’s campaign against President George H.W. Bush, and while the stagnant economy in 1992 was the key reason why Clinton was elected, health care reform was still part of the agenda. Then First Lady Hillary Clinton was in charge of the reform, and she failed to accomplish anything. The issue then took a back seat to more pressing concerns, and did not resurface as a major theme of a campaign until President Barrack Obama was elected in 2008.

Despite the fact that, as with President Clinton, the troubled economy was the main reason for Obama’s election, the Democrat President and the Democrat controlled Congress took on the job of reforming health care. In March of 2010, they succeeded where Hillary Clinton did not–health care reform became law.

It was a controversial law, as not one Republican voted in favor of it. It is widely suspected that most Members of Congress did not even read the bill before passing it into law. It appeared as if it was passed to give the President a legislative victory to take away from the fact that the U.S. economy was still in trouble over two years since he took office. Politics was certainly a factor, as the Democrats knew they were in danger of losing at least one House of Congress in the 2010 election, and wanted to pass it before that occurred.

The Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in the election of 2010 and as soon as they were sworn in to office, the House voted to repeal health care reform. It was a ceremonial gesture, as the Senate was still controlled by the Democrats, and the bill died. Still, it demonstrated the concern that millions of Americans still have with health care reform.

The plan is not designed to be fully implemented until after the 2012 Presidential election, to safeguard its supporters from taking any political heat should it prove to be a failure. The bill mandates that Americans must buy health insurance or face a penalty for not doing so, and that insurance companies can not refuse coverage to any one with a pre-existing condition.

Despite promises that the cost of health insurance would be reduced by the President, the opposite has already proven to be true, as people have seen premiums rise significantly since the legislation was passed. Additionally, the aspect of the bill mandating that all Americans purchase health insurance has already been ruled as unconstitutional by lower courts and the US Supreme Court will make the ultimate decision on that issue.