Healthcare Reform: For Obama, the Hardest Is Yet to Come

The Senate’s adoption of the universal health care project this Thursday constitutes an advance and a victory for the American president, according to the American media. “Obama has succeeded in attaining a goal that has evaded the Democrats for decades,” summarizes the Huffington Post. “The project, approved by some 60 votes against 39, signifies the most significant extension of the federal social safety net since the creation of Medicare in 1965, the health insurance meant for the elderly and disabled,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

The newspapers are still affected by “Obamania.” Following the example of the Los Angeles Times, numerous headlines have been cropping up detailing the role played by Harry Reid, head of the democratic senator parade, in the success of this vote, obtained just before Christmas after 25 consecutive days of debate.

The victory is still not a sure thing. The text must from now on be fused with the text already voted upon in the House of Representatives on November 7th. A definitive version must then be sent to President Obama for promulgation. The democrats in the two chambers hope to send the project to the White House before the State of the Union Address, which is usually held in the last week of January.

Still to Overcome

According to the Washington Post, “the hardest has yet to come and it will be necessary to overcome this with the differences that have long distinguished the respective versions of the House of Representatives and the Senate in order to come together behind a single bill.” With this goal in mind, Barack Obama could increase the pressure, explains the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper affirms that “after being largely kept at a distance, he projects to get involved in more negotiations to come.”

Time magazine has formulated a list of five major issues that still must be overcome. Amongst these points is notably the question of financing the reform, that of social insurance and access to abortion.

In addition to the political analysis, the media try to clarify the impact of the reform on the lives of American citizens. NPR Radio’s website published a “Consumer Guide” that responds to concrete questions like, “How much is all this going to cost? Is it going to raise my taxes?” Finally, a Wall Street Journal blog summarizes the reform in figures. According to the post, “31 million more people are going to have health coverage from here to 2019 with this law. But 23 million people are going to remain uninsured.”