Healthcare reform: Forever just a bill on Capitol Hill?

The beginning of this week marks yet another threat to the advancement of healthcare reform in Congress. A group of Democrats in the House have made it clear that their support of the current healthcare bill that is hoped to reach a vote in the House by the weekend hangs on altering the legislation so federally subsidized insurance plans will not cover abortion costs. The current bill in the House, which includes a public insurance option still being debated in the Senate, specifies that people may use federal subsidies to buy insurance that covers abortions, but only money from private and individual healthcare premiums can be used to pay for abortions. Some Democrats and almost all Republicans oppose this stipulation and argue that it essentially provides federal funding for abortions as the federal and private insurance money is combined for the individual’s use. As Representative Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) claims to have gathered enough followers to block the bill’s passage with the current abortion provisions, one may wonder if a complete common ground can ever be reached, not only in each individual chamber of Congress, but also in both the Senate and House combined.
Does the institution of the legislative branch, filling the role of law-maker, have simply too many rules and competing incentives to produce outcomes in a timely fashion? A now regular on the government agenda, healthcare reform that provides universal health benefits to all U.S. citizens has surfaced at every possible open policy window for nearly a century. As the cost of healthcare has reached unattainable heights for tens of millions of U.S. citizens, the call for healthcare reform is stronger than ever but will Congress, with its numerous conflicting views, incentives, and rules, be able to overcome its many institutional obstacles and change the current healthcare system in the near future?
While the majority of Americans remain hopeful, the current proposed healthcare bills still have a long journey ahead as separate House and Senate versions are still in the works. Though the checkpoint-filled legislative system that translates a bill to a law serves to protect against hastily enacted and potentially destructive policies, it can also serve as a nearly impenetrable barrier for the extremely complex yet vital change that is healthcare reform.