The House of Representatives reached a milestone on Nov. 7 _ it passed a health care reform bill, known as Affordable Health Care for America Act.
The bill, H.R. 3962, was approved 220 to 215, with most Democrats voting yes, and all but one Republican voting no.
The legislation removes lifetime caps on insurance benefits, gets rid of exclusions for pre-existing conditions, mandates coverage and offers a public option.
Rep. Michael Arcuri of Utica voted for the bill; Rep. Scott Murphy of Glens Falls was one of 39 Democrats who voted against it.
"Although there are many things I like about the bill, I don't believe it went far enough to control costs," Murphy said. "There are incentives in our system for providers to schedule more visits, more tests and more of everything else because that's how they pay the bills in their offices, but that's not the right model."
Republicans, in general, have been against the bill because of the cost to government, and therefore taxpayers. Republicans have also raised objections to the government taking a larger role in health care.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has placed the bill on the Senate calendar, with debate possibly beginning Tuesday.
Shortly after the bill's passage in the House, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said the bill is "dead on arrival."
We hope that is not the case.
There are very few people who believe our health care system is working fine as it stands now.
There are more than 40 million Americans without health insurance, most not by choice.
Even many of those who do have health insurance find premiums and co-pays difficult to pay.
Solutions range from a "Medicare-for-all" plan to one that will let the market work it out, without government interference.
The only way we will be able to determine the best option is to debate the issue.
Voting down the House bill without discussion will do nothing to get closer to a solution.
There is no doubt that a bill passing the Senate will be a monumental task. But senators must come together and figure out what will work for them _ and for us.
After that, the House and Senate bills can be reconciled, with what we hope is a compromise that is workable.
We can't expect that what comes out of Congress will be perfect. As time goes by, it can be adjusted and amended to strengthen what works and remove what doesn't.
But what is most important is that we don't allow health care reform to die.
Inaction is not an option.
