HEALTH REFORM: When Personal is Political

My colleague Meredith and I ventured over to Capitol Hill yesterday for the unveiling of the 1,990 page House health reform bill. We sat by the steps of the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. Having arrived relatively early, we started a conversation with the couple sitting next to us. We learned that the U.S. Capitol building has some 541 rooms and 648 windows, construction began in 1793 and the new dome is built out of 8,909,200 pounds of cast-iron. (Meredith, who has lived in Washington for several years now might have known that but I, a recent Boston transplant, was fascinated.) We also learned about what has been going on inside the building over the past several months, leading us up to this very morning.

You've probably watched or read (or twittered) about the event by now. So we're not going to dwell too much on how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kicked off the rally, introducing the House's sweeping health care legislation. We want to tell you about some of the people whose speeches at the rally didn't make the headlines. Ordinary Americans who have had terrible experiences in getting or keeping coverage -- and who explained how it would all be different, for both themselves and people like them, when health reform becomes the law of the land.

Priscilla King, 70,  told us how she and her husband, Bernie, live on their Social Security checks. They collectively take 13 pills each day and after paying for prescription bills, they are left with less than $100 each week to pay for other living expenses. The Medicare Part D "donut hole" puts them into debt -- and they don't think it's fair that they pay premiums all year but receive benefits only part of the year.

The House bill would speed up the elimination of the Medicare Part D coverage gap -- also called the "donut hole."  The "hole" would be eliminated by 2019.

Dan Sherry, a small business owner from Barrington, Illinois, told us that while his employees are like family, he cannot afford to give them health insurance. It's just too expensive.

The House bill would create insurance market exchanges where private plans and possibly a public plan would compete to cover individuals without employer-sponsored insurance and individuals working for small businesses.

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) argued that women stand to gain the most from health reform and invited a young mother to the podium.  Years ago, this woman and her husband paid over $20,000 for in-vitro fertilization. When their insurance policies became too expensive, they decided to apply for new coverage. While they were able to get some coverage for their  three boys, the parents were denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions: infertility and spousal infertility. By making a family, they had become uninsurable.

The House bill would provide immediate help to Americans who have been uninsured for several months or denied coverage due to preexisting conditions.

Monique, a 27 year old student at Georgetown Law, recounted the problems she had after college covering her health care bills. She struggled both between jobs and during waiting periods to pay for her hypertension prescriptions. She doesn't think that young adults should have to feel tied to one job and one location during their years of discovery and career development.

The House bill would allow young adults to stay on their parents' insurance plans until their 27th birthday.

And of  course, it wouldn't be a House Democratic health reform rally without Rep. John Dingell. (D-MI). He  brought the gavel that he used when Medicare passed back in 1965. Endorsing health reform, he told the crowd that "a good piece of wood does not wear out with one great event." And as Paul Krugman of the New York Times argues in his editorial this morning:

This is the moment of truth. The political environment is as favorable for reform as it’s likely to get. The legislation on the table isn’t perfect, but it’s as good as anyone could reasonably have expected. History is about to be made -- and everyone has to decide which side they’re on.