Vote On Sunday Could Spell History For American Health Care

President Obama has delayed his trip to Asia twice in the last week for the same reason. The President wants to see his proposed health care reform legislation through to the end.  He wants to be present when the bill is hopefully passed and history is made. For the millions of uninsured Americans, history could be made as early as Sunday when the health care reform bill is voted on by the House of Representatives. This is the closest the landmark bill has ever been to being passed and congressional democrats are confident that it will finally come to fruition on Sunday.

The $940 billion health care reform bill would be a 10-year plan that would give health care coverage to over 30 million uninsured Americans. This would be done through tax credits for the middle class and an expansion of Medicaid. The bill would also force large and medium sized businesses to provide all their workers with some sort of health care coverage. This is the first time in history that individuals could be penalized for not providing or signing up for health insurance. The bill is not just about health care because it could cut the federal deficit by over $130 billion. Democrats are hoping that this aspect of the bill will bring fiscal-conservative Republicans off the fence and into support of the important legislation.

Despite the vote Sunday, the bill still will still have many hurdles before it is passed. To begin with, the process of the bill will be slow and could be cut down in its early stages even if it makes it out of Congress. This is in addition to the fact that many House Republicans have stated that they will stop at nothing to make sure the bill is never passed.  However , if Democrats get their way, this weekend could be the historic landmark for the millions who are in desperate need of health care.