Now that the bill is passed and on its way to the White House, it's important to step back and remember that the bill is flawed and has to be fixed. Healthcare reform will continue on as we endeavor to make it better. That means further cost controls, a public option or Medicare buy-in, and an expansion of both the subsidies and regulations.
More importantly, the Republicans intend to dismantle this legislation and so we have to defend it from those efforts as well. It's not good enough to simply say, Aw rats! The Republicans are adding ballot initiatives to nullify the mandates. Oh well! We have to both stop those efforts while adding ballot initiatives of our own. Or this entire effort will have been a waste of time.
We've been given a huge opportunity here. A smoother road leading us closer to a single-payer system. Let's not screw it up.