I find it very interesting how the whole health care reform thing has played out in Congress. For a long time there were so many different versions of the bill, and they kept changing, that the media (progressive and conservative) became focused on provisions that had convenient sound bites, like “public option” and “death panels”. The whole thing became such a circus that now that we actually have a bill, nobody seems very happy with it.
Which is unfortunate. Although I don’t think the bill goes far enough, it is a step in the right direction. I hope it passes (although it would be nice if they change it so that it goes into effect more quickly — many of the provisions don’t start until 2014).
UPDATE: The person who came up with the idea of the public option defends the current bill, and suggests some good ways to strengthen it.
