It seems like a never ending saga- health care insurance reform has been an ongoing political issue for years. The past 12 months have boosted the issue into the daily headlines with Republicans pitted against Democrats and the Senate fighting the House of Representatives. At the center of it all is the man who was elected on a promise to finally settle the health care insurance debate once and for all. Despite calls for a signable bill by the end of 2009, it seems highly unlikely that consensus in on the horizon. While both the House and the Senate have passed their own version of a bill, it remains to be seen how long it will take for a single combined version to be decided upon.

Even before a law is passed, Republican voices are calling for repeal. There are several bones of contention, each likely to spur more argument than agreement. Opponents of health care reform are still fighting against the same issues they’ve been against all along. If the Republican contingent gets their way and prevents the reform bill from being passed (or repealed if it does pass) insurance companies will still be able to deny coverage to anyone with a pre-existing condition like diabetes or asthma. In addition, this group of conservatives are contesting the idea of removing lifetime caps for insurance coverage.

The opponents of the reform are against the idea of free preventative medicine being made available to everyone and allowing tax credits for working individuals and families as well as small businesses. One provision of health care  Republicans are not just opposing, but are questioning whether or not it is even constitutional, is the idea that every American would be mandated to have health care coverage or face a fine.

Many of those in favor of reform believe that 46 million Americans without health coverage is reason enough to vote for reform. However, there is no question that many of the reforms being called for would be extremely expensive. But the Congressional Budget Office is projecting that under the current bill proposed by the Senate, everyone who is covered by insurance through their employer would continue to pay about the same amount they are paying now. Those people who pay for their own insurance, however, would probably wind up paying more for premiums, although they would be receiving better coverage than they currently receive.

The idea of a public health care coverage option seems to be out of the picture, at least for now. However, Democrats are still in favor of a marketplace or exchange option which would give people the ability to compare costs and hopefully find more affordable choices in private health care.

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