The House of Representatives Republican Whip, Eric Cantor, has vowed to lead the Republicans in an effort to repeal the landmark health care legislation that was passed by Congress earlier this year.  Since President Obama would certainly veto any repeal of the full legislation, Cantor indicated that the Republicans would attempt to use spending bills to enable them to block the implementation of various components of the health care reform.  As reported by the New York Times, Cantor stated, “If all of Obamacare cannot be immediately repealed, then it is my intention to begin repealing it piece by piece, blocking funding for its implementation and blocking the issuance of the regulations necessary to implement it.”

The new health care law, in my view, provides a number of important benefits to the American people and, despite some shortcomings, provides us a step in the right direction.  As a result of the legislation, approximately 30,000,000 more Americans will have health care coverage.  Insurance companies will not be permitted to deny coverage based upon pre-existing conditions.  Insurance plans must cover a variety of preventative care services, with no out-of-pocket costs.   Health plans can no longer place a lifetime limit on what they will pay for care of people with cancer and other serious conditions.  Young adults can now remain on a parent’s plan until age 26.  Medicare will be strengthened, as the cost of prescriptions for seniors will be substantially reduced.  Medicaid will be expanded, providing affordable coverage to millions of low-income Americans.  The new health care legislation will also reduce the deficit, below what it would have otherwise been.

I do wish the legislation had gone further.  I would have liked to have seen a public option.  Also, I am concerned that so much was compromised, for the benefit of the insurance companies or for Big Pharma.  I hope that, over time, we will implement “Medicare for All,” a single-payer, universal health care system.

Repeal of the legislation, I believe, would just be a terrible step backwards.

For an excellent fact sheet on how single-payer systems work, see this Q&A, prepared by the Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP).  For information about the PNHP and a link to its website, please see the Peace and Justice Online Directory of Resources.