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It's not what it could have been had the proper people been properly motivated. President Obama is a smart man, but he's not a bold man. I fear his decision to begin the compromise with an already compromised position, that of the public option, all but ensured that we would not have any major reforms. I've read every incarnation of the bill that's been released to the public. The bill being passed could be worse, but there are so many areas in which it could be better, I don't know that I can list them all.
Things I don't like: align with robot_parade, at least in the broad strokes. While it probably was unreasonable to expect single-payer, I didn't feel it was unreasonable to expect a public option until the Democrats started opening their mouths and the GOP completely went off the deep end. The mandate scares the shit out of me. A mandate without a public option means higher risk pools in the private market, something that's causing problems already without forcing people into them. The public option along with the mandate made sense because the public option existed without high risk being a factor.
I'm very happy that the bill at least seeks to present the illusion of stopping irresponsible practices in the market. It's not the changes that matter, it's the illusion that the government is regulating the market. Over the next few years, as the US does not become a communist state, the nay-sayers will be forced to dine upon their venomous words. The free market can be regulated without it leading to some imaginary nightmare. And if these reforms help one person in real life, at least it will have helped at all. It's better than nothing.
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