senator brown
senator brown
Posted by rpereira on January 21, 2010 at 05:47pm

By: Emily Beaver

After Massachusetts voters elected Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts to the Senate Tuesday, members of Congress immediately starting talking about what to do about health reform.

"Scaling back", "paring down", and "stripping down" are some of the phrases being used to describe how health care reform might change since the Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. It sounds more like going on a diet than changing public policy -- but what politicians are really talking about cutting out are reforms that would help everyone get health insurance. And with young adults making up a disproportionate share of the uninsured population, many young people wouldn't receive any benefits from a "scaled back" health reform package.

So what does Tuesday's election mean? Some politicians read the election as a sign the public is more concerned about jobs than health care. Some are saying the public just doesn't support or understand the health care reform plans Democrats originally proposed. Others say Massachusetts voters, who already have a statewide universal health insurance program, don't want to help other states that haven't provided insurance to all residents.

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