Are we still talking about the Healthcare bill? Yes, we emphatically are. And now we are talking cost, because that is where the decisions are made in the end, whether things go forward or die in committees before they can make it to the floor for votes.

What was just months ago blasted as certain to cost over $1 Trillion is now being billed at an estimated $829 Billion and would cut the federal deficit by $81 Billion over 10 years. Well, let’s do it then! That’s some pretty fantastic news on the cost front- an over 15% reduction? I’m starting to think that Obama played the politics out right on this one- let everybody complain and protest during the break and come back with rebuttals and a cheaper plan- nice.

Republicans continue to be concerned about the cost and have been consistently demanding cost estimates for the bill- fair enough, right? But to see that kind of a reduction coming out, that’s good news.

If this thing passes it will require all of us to have health insurance and force insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions- something that will certainly have unforeseen consequences and implications in the future.

Dozens of amendments were added to the measure during seven days of committee debate, but the number of people who would be insured under the bill did not change and the reduction in the budget deficit actually increased.

The big deal with the Finance Committee version is that it has a nonprofit cooperative rather than a government run healthcare option- but the thing is, all of the House versions do, as does the Senate health committee version.  

Some Republicans, though, are dramatically skeptical:

"The real bill will be written by Democrat leaders in a closed-to-the-public conference room somewhere in the Capitol. The real bill will be another 1,000-page, trillion-dollar experiment," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said.

What I want to know is when are we going to see this thing? Sure, we’ve been arguing about how big it is, what it does and how much it’s going to cost for months- remember when Obama asked everyone to vote and be done with it before the end of the summer sessions? It’s the middle of October- are we at least going to vote on this thing before Thanksgiving?

The last version of the bill in the committee world spent the week in Max Baucus’ Finance Committee in the Senate, accruing new amendments but retaining the same number of people covered and, surprisingly, reducing its budget.

Next up is for it to pass and be merged with the Senate health committee version and could show up in the Senate sometime this month for debate.  

We’ll see. Party leaders are making it happen in the House, trying to make three current bills fit into one that will get the necessary 218 votes to pass it.

Well, I’m getting sick just sitting here and I can’t go to the hospital without that insurance! It’s H1N1 season, folks! Hurry up so I can get some anti-biotics!!!