We’re not going to have a revamped health care system for Christmas, but it looks like we’re going to have a Senate health care bill by Christmas eve. 

The larger task of merging it with the House bill so that we end up with something that makes sense remains. 2010 promises to start with a bang. We have no choice but to forgive 2009 for its crushing disappointments and move on. 

After a century of talking about it, health care reform has come farther than it ever has before, but compromises, amendments, and drama for the cameras have made the actual legislation contained in the Senate bill nearly impossible to follow from one day to the next. 

According to Bloomgerg.com, $600 million has been spent in 2009 trying to influence members of Congress, and there are 3,300 lobbyists registered to lobby on health care -- that’s six for each of the 535 members of the House and the Senate. The battle was not only costly, but ugly, with thoughts about actual health care matters largely left out of the discussion as the powers that be fought for their own special interests.

It is almost a given that the final bill will be a far cry from badly needed comprehensive health care reform that will cover all Americans and provide serious competition for the insurers who hold us hostage. More Americans will be covered, but it is likely that tens of millions will continue to fall through the cracks.

Insurers will no longer be able to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions or rescind policies from the sick, but with no public option, it remains to be seen if premiums will be affordable for middle income Americans, or if we’ll be paying a mandate penalty.

It’s obvious that whatever legislation is passed in the end, it won’t meet all of our expectations. Rather, it will be step one in a very long movement toward providing all citizens with access to health care. No matter how you feel about the final bill, the movement will not end with the passage of a single piece of legislation.

The Washington Post reports that President Obama is defending the bill, saying he is ""not just grudgingly supporting the bill. I am very enthusiastic about what we have achieved," and that the Senate bill accomplishes 95 percent of what he called for during his 2008 presidential campaign.

Here’s one bit of good news about health care as we bid adieu to 2009: This week, President Obama signed a measure to extend the federal subsidy for an additional six months (for a total of 15 months) for COBRA for terminated workers who had employer-based group plans. That’s good news if you happen to be in that group. If you fell off the rolls before the original subsidy was in place, you’re still out of luck. 

That’s been the biggest part of our problem all along... too many ways for honest, hard-working people to fall out of the system... far too many people hanging out over the edge of the cliff. You can tell a lot about a nation by how it treats its own, particularly when it comes to health. We can do better than this. We’ve got a lot riding on 2010.

In addition, my sis sent me this: Cancer and Government Run Healthcare. A very good article but in the last sentence.... yes, there are lots of idiots in Washington BUT Bernie Madoff is still a HUGE jerk!

Here are some things to think about too as we move forward & hopefully make this healthcare bill better:

Five Critical Flaws in the Senate Health Care Bill from MoveOn.org

The Senate bill would:

#1—Deny Americans the choice of a public option. In contrast, the House bill contains a national public option, the key to real competition, greater choice, and lower costs.¹

#2—Leave insurance unaffordable for some lower income and working people. Both bills require virtually all Americans to buy insurance. But even with the subsidies provided, some families could have to pay up to 20% of their income on health care expenses.²

#3—Impose dangerous restrictions on women's reproductive health care. Unfortunately, both bills do this and the House provision is worse. Both versions would be a dangerous step and neither should be in the final bill.³

#4—Tax American workers' health coverage to pay for reform. The Senate would pay for part of reform by taxing the hard-won benefits packages of some working Americans. The House, on the other hand, pays for reform with a small surcharge on only the wealthiest Americans—a far better approach.⁴ 

#5—Allow insurance companies to remain exempt from anti-trust laws. Under current law, insurance companies are actually exempt from laws designed to prevent monopolies and price-gouging. The House bill would fix this, but the Senate bill leaves it in place.⁵

Of course, these aren't the only problems with the bill. Most glaringly, both the Senate and House bill would leave millions uninsured,⁶ a far cry from the vision of universal coverage so many of us have fought for. That remains a long-term goal.

But these five things need to be fixed immediately—and we need to spread the word to make sure House and Senate leadership and the White House get the message we're counting on them to craft a final bill with these key fixes.