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'n'1' j.Iortlanb (Observer
January 6, 2010
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A Step in the Right Direction
Supporting the
health care
compromise
J udge G reg M athis
The Senate m ade his­
tory by passing legislation
that w ould overhaul the
n a tio n ’s health insurance system .
Though the bill still has to be m erged
w ith the one the H ouse passed in
N ovem ber before it can be signed
into law by P resident O bam a, this
current crop o f legislators has com e
farther than any other in w orking to
m ake sure A m ericans have needed
healthcare coverage. The legisla­
tion, how ever, m ay not see the light
o f day if som e s ta te ’s attorneys
have their way.
A ttorney G enerals from 10 states
are w orking to challenge the co n sti­
by
tutionality o f the b ill’s requirem ent
that every individual buy health
insurance. They are also look­
ing to use the fact that som e
sen ato rs, in ex ch an g e for
their vote, received benefits
for their state to form the
basis o f their legal challenge.
For exam ple, D em ocratic
S enator Ben N elson o f N e­
braska w as a hold-out and d id n ’t
decide to vote for the b ill’s passage
until he ensured his state w ould get
$ 100 m illion in benefits to under the
new law.
I f p a s s e d , th e g o v e r n m e n t
w o u ld re q u ire , fo r th e first tim e,
th a t e v ery A m e ric a n c arry so m e
ty p e o f h ealth in su ra n ce ; su p p o rt
w o u ld be p ro v id e d to h elp th o se
w h o c a n n o t a ffo rd to p ay fo r in ­
su ra n c e on th e ir o w n . E m p lo y ers
w o u ld be e n c o u ra g e to p ro v id e
in su ra n c e fo r e m p lo y e e s via tax
c re d its an d th e in su ra n c e in d u s­
try w o u ld no t be a llo w e d to d e n y
b e n e fits o r c h a rg e h ig h e r p re m i­
um s fo r th o se w ith p re -e x is tin g
c o n d itio n s su ch as d ia b etes.
P a ssin g su ch m o n u m e n ta l le g ­
isla tio n - e stim a te d to c o st n e arly
$1 trillio n o v e r 10 y e a r s - h a s been
no easy tax. P re v io u s a d m in is tra -
Concessions
had to he made
along the way.
direction. I f this goes to the Su
prem e C ourt for decision - and it
m ay if the suits are found to have
m erit - all o f this w ork could be for
naught. T he current court is d o m i­
nated by conservative R epublicans
w ho share the view s o f those poli­
ticians w ho refused to support this
healthcare bill.
T h e A tto rn e y G e n e ra ls w ho
w ish to sto p th e p a ssa g e o f the
b ill sh o u ld th in k ab o u t th e e ld ­
e rly w o m an w h o , b e c a u se o f th e
h ig h co st o f m e d ic a tio n , c a n n o t
a ffo rd in su lin to m a n ag e h e r d ia ­
b e te s o r o f th e y o u n g b o y w ho
d ie d from a to o th in fe c tio n b e ­
c a u se his p a re n ts d id n ’t h av e
m e d ic al care an d c o u ld n 't tak e
him to the d o c to r. T h e se are th e
ty p e s o f s to rie s th a t fuel th e d e ­
sire to b eg in th e real task o f re ­
fo rm in g A m e r ic a ’s h e a lth c a re
s y ste m .
A Young
Life Gone
Too Soon
Finding hope
and love from
tragedy
by Everett Rice
O n the last day
o f 2 0 0 9 ,1 sat dow n
at m y desk at hom e
and reflected on the y e ar 2009. Like
m any others, and unlike som e, 1 was
tio n s hav e a tte m p te d s im ila r fetes
blessed to see an o th er y ear and
b u t th e ir e ffo rts w e re b o g g e d
hopefully by H is G race, seeing 2010.
d o w n in p o litic a l red tap e. C o n ­
A fter review ing the events and
c e ssio n s h ad to be m a d e a lo n g the
contem plating w hat I learned and
w ay and la w m a k e rs fro m ev ery
grew from this year, I found m y se lf
sta te w o rk e d to e n su re th e in te r­
draw n to a m om ent that happened
e sts o f th e ir c o n stitu e n ts w e re at
ju st three days earlier. W ithout know ­
least p a rtia lly re fle c te d in th e b ill.
Greg Mathis is a retired Michi­ ing it, I w alked onto a scene that I
This bill is far from perfect but is gan District Court judge and syn­
d id n ’t expect. A t ab o u t 4 p.m ., I
a m uch needed step in the right dicated television show judge.
along w ith others found m y se lf in
the m iddle o f a tragedy.
A 15 y ear old youth had fallen
from a parking structure on the co r­
ner o f Sixth and W ashington. N ot
know ing w hat the crow ds w ere look­
ing at, it hit m e w hen I saw a body
partially covered by p olice in front
o f the office store on the com er. The
gravity and the tragedy o f the situ­
ation changed the m ood o f all w ho
h a d g a th e re d an d w a tc h e d the
Y o u r fa v o r ite n e ig h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s t o r e n o w d e liv e r s
scene.
g r o c e r ie s r ig h t t o y o u r h o m e o r o ffic e .
T hat 15 y e ar old I d id n ’t know
changed m y life because I realized
that it could have been a n y o n e ’s
c h ild , a n y o n e ’s so n , d a u g h te r,
brother, sister, grand son, grand
daughter. The scene o f the partially
covered body w ith visibly distraught
fam ily m em bers, the scream s, and a
c h ild ’s stroller are etched forever in
m y m in d ’s eye. I keep seeing m y
chi ldren ’ s faces in the face o f that 15
y ear old.
N o itw a s n ’ta ju m p e r! I tw a s a l5
year old child w ho has family, friends,
and people w ho d id n ’t even know
him or her, grieving to this day. I
grieve not ju s t for this child, but for
all those youth, adults and throw ­
a w a y s o u r s o c ie ty -o v e rlo o k e d ,
w alked by and ignored in 2009, and
w ere delayed, inconvenienced and
held up by tragedies such as oc­
curred at Sixth and W ashington.
A s a result o f a tragedy in 2 0 0 9 ,1
hug m y w ife, children, grand ch il­
dren, family, and friends harder w hen
’
it«
I see them , as I have had a w ake up
call from a youth and fam ily I d id n ’t
even know .
NEW
M A R K E T
N O W D E L IV E R IN G
w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t.c o m
you click, we deliver, (or pull up for pick up)
Everette Rice is a member o f the
Portland Human Rights Commis­
sion and a minister with Emmanuel
Temple Church.