Health reform is a done deal

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from the Managed Care Matters blog

That's the word from several senators, at least as of last night. The last holdout, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, is reportedly on board after a lengthy negotiating session that ended late Friday.

The bill is currently being read to the entire Senate on request from GOP Senators, after which the vote will be taken - sometime around 5 o'clock this afternoon. The price for Nelson's vote was $45 million; the US Senator forced the Federal government to pay for the entire cost of the Medicaid expansion for his home state of Nebraska.

Who would've thought Nebraska would need even more pork, or that the Senator would feel no shame in forcing taxpayers from other states to pay for his vote. Since 1983, Nebraska has received more from the Federal government than it has paid in taxes; Nelson's extortion will skew the numbers in favor of his voters even more.

Things could break down, there could be defections from the ranks of the theoretically-committed, Lieberman could decide he's not done grandstanding, the House and Senate could run into difficulties in reconciliation, a meteor could hit the earth...suffice it to say there's a lot that could derail passage, but there's the beginning of a whiff of inevitability about reform, enough to make it very difficult for anyone to stand in the way of the bill.
Managed Care Matters