It's a big deal!

The signing of the Healthcare Bill into law on Tuesday is a big deal as Joe Biden said a little less politely. See here for Mark Mardell from the BBC's analysis. What do you think - will this improve or end Obama's chances in the November mid-term elections? What do you think of the healthcare provisions themselves?

Healthcare passed!

Is this the end of the healthcare saga? It looks like it. A 219-212 vote in last night's House followed by a likely 51 vote majority in the Senate and a certain signing by the President means that after over a year of wrangling the USA has finally enacted extended healthcare insurance for its citizens - approximately 32 million people. However, that is not the end of the story entirely as there will be court challenges and the Republicans will want to keep the issue in the public eye until the mid-term elections this November. See here for Mark Mardell from the BBC's comments and here for the story from Channel 4.

US Healthcare

An excellent piece by Justin Webb on the possible negative effects of President Obama's healthcare bill. Whilst most agree the number of Americans without access to healthcare coverage is too high, the current system encourages investment in research and development of new drugs, something that may be curtailed in the future and impact on all our lives. Listen to it on BBC iplayer here.

American town hall madness

The Democrats have been holding town hall debates across the country to answer questions about the healthcare plan. It has not been very civilised however...
See here for the Daily Show's John Stewart's take on it with clips from the debates and the ever interesting view from the now unemployed Sarah Palin.

Obama & Healthcare

Lots about Obama's healthcare in the news as this may well be the policy that defines his presidency and it is causing considerable concern on Capitol Hill. Bronwen Maddox from the Times sums up the issues here.

Healthcare

Can Obama do what Clinton was unable to do? That is, reform the healthcare system? Not an easy thing to do, particularly in this economic climate. He does have a Democratic Congress, but then so did Clinton...
See ">here for CNN's introduction, see here for yesterday's Guardian article.