The current draft of the House Health Care Reform Bill is over 1900 pages long.
The Senate HELP Committee Bill was shorter (600 pages), but about as complicated.
There are going to be Lawyers (and Lawyers who I know personally) who are going to have a hard time slogging through this sucker, much less understanding all the bells and whistles associated with it.
I would put your chances of understanding the bill on your own, without aid of a summary or breakdown, as not very good.
I'm not saying you're stoopid, but hell...there are Senators who are going to be voting on the actual bill who don't have a clue as to what's its all about.
Yes, I'm talking to you Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut...
These people I would call stoopid, and do it to their face.
If you are a Single Payer advocate (like I am), and are generally in favor of Liberal Health Care Reform (like I am), and of course, a Public Option (which is a big HELL YES), watch three people:
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (WV)
Sen. Tom Harkin (IA)
Rep. John Dingle (MI)
If these three guys say the bill is okay, then the bill is okay. Period.
John Dingle was interviewed by Ezra Klein this afternoon. When asked about the House bill's shortcomings, he put it like this:
Look my friend, I'm too smart to criticize a bill that has taken this much time, effort, and suffering to get to where it is. I will only say this: You know me, and you know I have always stood for a single-payer plan. In the process of compromise and legislating, I believe this is as good as can be done now. This is a plan that gives choice to our people and is peculiarly suited to the United States and the system of medicine we now have.
That's about how it breaks down.
