U.S. President Obama: Health Care Reform closer than ever

Can't help it notice that people who have been following the US HC reform debate (like yours truly) are smelling blood that HC reform is indeed very close to being done specially when I heard of the provision in the Senate version to give individual States the choice to "opt out" of the optional public option. 

Even the term "optional public option" caught many people's eyes redundant as it may seem.  I guess you really have to say it that way so that people can understand that it is really just an option and to further emphasize that you can choose to opt out of it.  If this is not a good and fair compromise, then I don't what is. 

Also, anyone who would like to migrate to the US and specially if working there in the healthcare field should be cheering this monumental development (if ever it passes). 

Believe me, it is for the better that you can choose to have both public and private insurance or private insurance with a public option as a fallback to.

And you don't have to be someone who actually worked in a country to be able to appreciate where there is such a choice.  You only need a relative or friend who works in such country.  I happen to have very far relatives who lives and works in the UK who maintains both public and private insurance and one of them had a massive hemorrhagic stroke while visiting the Philippines and was on a comatose in the ICU for months.  Their total hospital bill (St. Luke's) amounted to about P4,000,000.  They did not pay any single cent and was totally covered by both their public and private insurance and word is that it was the public insurance that kicked in when the patient went into comatose.  Had it not for the patient being covered by both public and private insurance, majority of the financial burdern would have been shouldered by the patient's surviving children.  A double whammy.

It is also nice that you can have a public option to fall back as majority if not all private insurance in the US are employment dependent.  Meaning, if you loose your job - you loose your insurance.  Portability is also a problem as changing jobs or moving to another State would also mean loosing your employer-dependent insurance and being forced to a new policy that you do not like or consider inferior from what your previous employer gave you.

Then of course, there are many instances that private insurers will not honor claims and deny coverage citing many excuses such as this very recent story we featured here: http://foreign-nurse.lefora.com/2009/10/22/lawyer-nurse-assistant-denied-care-after-attacks/page1/

Obama: Health Care Reform Closer than Ever
President Predicts Success in Achieving Overhaul of Health Care System

Excerpts:

(AP)  President Barack Obama said an overhaul of the U.S. health care system is closer than ever, but he warned of tough battles ahead as major industries such as insurance companies fight hard to preserve their profits.

Mr. Obama made his remarks Monday night at a pair of Democratic Party fundraisers in Miami.

He spoke a few hours after Senate leaders endorsed legislation that would add a government-run health insurance plan for Americans, with states having the right to opt out. Mr. Obama did not mention the Senate action, but he predicted success in realizing his top domestic policy priority.

Mr. Obama said that America has no choice but to overhaul the health care system to make insurance cheaper for families, businesses and the government.