Altman Part 4 and Epilogue

When Barack Obama was elected President in 2008, he promised to pass a comprehensive health care reform law that expanded the current health care system to include most uninsured Americans. That was his goal from the moment he took office, and it was one of the first bill he immediately began working on with Congress. However, not only did he have to make compromises with the members of Congress who opposed his plan, he also had to convince the doctors, the insurance companies, the hospitals, and even ordinary Americans that the reform was needed. With almost all the Republicans condemning the bill, it was hard for Obama to begin his plan, and he probably would not have succeeded without the help of many members of his own party. They were able to convince enough people that the reform would be beneficial to side-step the votes of the Republicans and still get the bill passed into law. Along with compromises and deals that the Democratic Party was able to make with the doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies, the bill seemed sure to be signed before the Christmas break. However, during the summer, the public erupted into near-riots, with lies going around (some spread by Republican Congressmen), that the new law would allow Congress to decide whether some people lived or died. Despite this setback, the Obama administration was able to pass the law, although with many amendments that had been added by its own members and by other organizations that they needed. The administration has been lauded for passing into law the most comprehensive health care reform bill in American history.