It passed by a mere 2 votes-- which suggests that getting a comparable bill through the Senate might be difficult.
Nearly 220 socialists in the United States House of Representatives gave a rousing cheer immediately after passage. These likely included Mel Watt and Brad Miller, both of whom represent part of our area.
Over the last year or so on the road, I've spoken with a lot of doctors who are talking about getting out as fast as they possibly can . . . the goal of these people, who otherwise might have worked well into their sixties or longer, is now early retirement.
I expect this will pretty much seal the deal for a lot of them.
Posted by: Dr. Mary Johnson | November 08, 2009 at 12:06 AM
Joe,
I disagree. Now, that the House has passed its bill, Harry Reid will press forward for a Senate bill. It is doubtful that he gets 60 votes to stop filibuster, so he pulls out the nuclear option, and passes with 51 votes with reconciliation. Then, both bills go to conference where the worst of both will be merged by House and Senate leaders, resulting in a bill that proudly is sent to Obama who will sign anything. Viola! We have socialized medicine through the government in four years, and instant tax increases with mandates to buy insurance. Failure to meet mandates results in fine and/or prison up to five years. That noise you just heard was your freedom and liberties being extinguished.
Posted by: Stormy | November 08, 2009 at 01:06 AM
Stormy, whether they choose to use the nuclear option is obviously one of the big questions. If they do, it might have some serious repercussions, and I am not sure how many Democratic senators will bolt in that event.
Anyway, I hope you are wrong, but obviously what you are suggesting has been on the radar screen for many months. They have been threatening the nuclear option, I believe, since the spring.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | November 08, 2009 at 07:05 AM
Mary, it will be interesting to see how many will, indeed, retire.
But if that happens, it will most likely be the more highly compensated "procedurists" who are going to be in more of a financial position to retire. That means interventional cardiologists, gastroenterologists, perhaps dermatologists, ophthalmologists, neurosurgeons, orthopedists, ENT specialists, urologists, vascular and thoracic surgeeons, surgical and radiation oncologists, radiologists, etc.
If that happens, there will be a shortage in those specialties. And they will not be easily replaced with PA's and nurse practitioners. People who need those types of services might have to wait a long time in some areas.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | November 08, 2009 at 07:14 AM
What's a little interesting about this bill, is that the actual bipartisanship was in OPPOSITION to it's passage - 179 Republicans and nearly 40 Democrats...isn't that ironic for a POTUS that ran on just such an effort...?
And I think they'll go nuclear Joe - this is their only chance to ever get this kind of legislation enacted. And all these folks know that once it passes, it will be almost impossible to "roll back"...so their work is done. An outstanding editorial in WSJ on Thursday, and another great article on the editorial page of the WSJ yesterday about this bill, by the way...for those that think they support this, but don't know anything about it.
Posted by: Everest | November 08, 2009 at 07:32 AM
Yes, Everest, a 2,000 page bill is going to contain all kinds of goodies and surprises. A lot of people are going to be shocked to learn what it does to them.
But I will be interested to see what happens if the nuclear option is attempted in the Senate. Apparently Republicans might have some procedural ammunition at their disposal if this is attempted, but we shall see.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | November 08, 2009 at 07:57 AM
Well, if the procedurists all quit/retire . . . and no one wants to go into primary care . . . I think Obama's legacy in healthcare will be a lot like Clinton's legacy in foreign policy (it's called 9/11).
This development has given me pause. I was going to wait until after the first of the year to do anything formally legal in my case.
Maybe I should buckle down and ramp things up now - perhaps get a little attention cast on what this bill does not do to "fix" medicine?
Posted by: Dr. Mary Johnson | November 08, 2009 at 08:51 AM
".....perhaps get a little attention cast on what this bill does not do to 'fix' medicine?"
Unfortunately, the Usual Suspects will just ignore (or trivialize and marginalize) that which is inconvenient to and non-supportive of The Agenda.
They're clearly not interested in "fixing" medicine, unless it aligns with an item in The Agenda.
Posted by: bubba | November 08, 2009 at 10:28 AM
My understanding is that in the House bill there is some provision for people under Medicare that they may no longer have a primary care "physician". For many, they will have a nurse practitioner as their gatekeeper. If health care is widely expanded, there just will not be sufficient doctors to treat everyone.
And, Joe, the only thing standing between us and this monstrosity is the nuclear option. So, the Dems will pull out the stops to do it. They've never been so close to taking over our health care, and they will not be defeated now. Obviously, they have been twisting arms and bribing congressmen for the past few days to get enough votes in the House. They will do the same in the Senate. And, once they pass a bill, any bill, in the Senate, when they go to conference, they can manipulate it anyway the choose. Obama would sign a banana if presented to him to sign. Health Care Reform is his signature legislation. They will do anything to get it. I would not want to be the one or two Senators standing in the way. I suspect that they have "files" (*) on them all, and the threat of exposure will be hard to resist. None of them in Washington are so clean that they could survive a blitz. Look at what they have done, and continue doing to this day, to Sarah Palin and her family.
No, at this point, they will pass a bill.
*As Paul Simon sang in Mrs. Robinson:
We'd like to know
A little bit about you
For our files.
We'd like to help you learn
To help yourself.
Posted by: Stormy | November 08, 2009 at 10:43 AM
The Democrats are paying no attention to the palpable distrust of Obamacare. Calls, letters, emails and genuine grassroots protests are all ignored. We are on the precipice of a dangerous cliff but I am sure that there are those who will fight with every fiber of their being to stop this socialist bill from becoming law.
Posted by: Fred Gregory | November 08, 2009 at 12:51 PM
I too am afraid of actual violent protest because there is nothing else left for patriots to do. BB
Posted by: Brenda Bowers | November 08, 2009 at 01:10 PM
Folks, Barack "We Won" Obama decided not to do it the bipartisan way, or to demonstrate a "new kind of politics". Instead, he elected to go strictly partisan because he knew precisely what he wanted, and what he thinks the Democrats can get by with.
The country is going to need to muster up more opposition.
The AMA apparently might reverse their endorsement on Monday, so perhaps that might shift any momentum.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | November 08, 2009 at 02:15 PM
Does anyone understand the constitutionality of the "nuclear option",i.e. what are the conditions under which it can be invoked?
Posted by: cheripickr | November 08, 2009 at 06:28 PM
Cheri, if I remember my constitution correctly, the filibuster is not in the constitution. The filibuster is a longstanding Senate tradition created by Senate rules, and has been in existence, I think, since the mid-1800's.
So I do not think the nuclear option to evade the filibuster is a constitutional question. It is a question of Senate procedure and tradition.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | November 08, 2009 at 08:13 PM