A report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office on Thursday that a final health care bill would cut the federal deficit has bolstered Democrats seeking votes to pass it.
Nebraska Farmers Union President John Hansen told Brownfield at the recent National Farmers Union convention that it’s unrealistic to believe that any bill will fix the current system. But, he says, change needs to get started, “This is not like planting corn and you’re done for the year. This is more like milking cows where you do it in the morning and you do it at night. This is going to be an ongoing process.”
Canadian wheat farmer Bill Toews, also at the NFU convention, says he’s taken aback by the negative perception in the U.S. of the Canadian system that is described by some as ‘socialized medicine,’ “There is this notion that government gets in between you and your doctor and all those kinds of things. I think that is patently untrue. I have talked to people here who are more concerned about insurance companies getting between you and your doctor.”
Toews says the Canadian health system is by no means perfect, but, he told Brownfield, “I was just telling some of the farmers here that the one thing I don’t worry about when I go to bed at night is whether or not I have health insurance or what kind of insurance I have. I wake up in the morning and I know I have health insurance.”
Hansen and Toews say there are too many stories of farmers losing coverage or having to drop it because of escalating costs.
According to Reuters, House Democrats are predicting passage of the Senate-passed bill on Sunday. They need 216 votes from Democrats to pass the bill which has been steadfastly opposed by Republicans. Democrats say it would, among other things, expand coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans.
Latest: 
