Yes, there are citizens who are celebrating  Sunday’s fateful vote to restructure the nation’s health care coverage. South Carolina’s Hospital Association is one such group applauding the passage of  the bill.  According to SCHA President Thornton Kirby,  hospitals are seeing too many patients who are uninsured.

“In South Carolina, this bill would result in coverage of about 80 percent of  all the people who are currently uninsured. So, almost 500,000 of the 700,000 uninsured will be benefited and that’s an important step for South Carolinians, ” Kirby says.

“We do not believe that the alternative is status quo, ” he says, “When we treat people who can’t pay, that has to be made up by people who do pay and it’s getting more and more difficult for the insured population to cover that cost.”

About 764,000 South Carolinians have no insurance. George Zara, CEO of Providence Hospitals in Columbia says, “ South Carolina hospitals are providing more than $1 billion in care each year for which there is no direct payment and which is passed on to those with insurance.” [Read more...]

Attorney General Henry McMaster’s latest  lawsuit against the federal government takes issue with the health care bill that passed the U-S House Sunday night.  He says part of the  bill infringes on individual liberties by mandating that citizens have health insurance. McMaster will join the suit brought by the Attorney General of Florida, in U.S. District Court in Florida.

“It’s requiring people to do something that they may or may not want to do. It’s being required not by a state government. It’s being required by the federal government and the Constitution not only doesn’t allow it but specifically prohibits it,” McMaster says. [Read more...]

The historic health care reform bill passed the U.S. House Sunday night. The final tally to approve the measure was 219-212, with 34 Democrats joining a united Republican caucus to vote against it. The $940 billion plan would expand health insurance coverage to 32 million Americans while imposing significant reforms on the insurance industry. The U.S. Senate passed its version back in December.

After the vote, President Obama thanked the Democratic leadership in the U.S. House including South Carolina’s Sixth District Congressman. “We proved that this government, a government for the people and by the people, still works for the people. I wanted to thank every member of Congress who stood up with courage and conviction to make health care reform a reality. I know this was not an easy vote for a lot of people, but it was the right vote. I want to thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her extraordinary leadership, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn for their commitment in getting the job done.” [Read more...]