The Hiller Instinct: Healthcare Bill

The historic health care bill brought out strong emotion on both sides of the aisle. But with the majority of Americans actually opposed to the bill, is it a miracle the reform passed as thousands protested the measure outside of Capitol Hill during this weekend's vote.

7's Political Analyst Andy Hiller says even though the bill passed, the fight is far from over. It's his "Hiller Instinct."

Usually when history is made, we can agree on what the history is, but not this time, not with the healthcare bill Congress passed being called both a miracle and a monstrosity.

Both views have valid points, and that's why this isn't the end of the battle over healthcare. It's really just the end of the beginning.

Look at all the polls and, today, more than half of America is against this health care plan, just 40% for it.

But polls don't vote, legislators do, and a majority voted yes. Majority rules is how America rolls, so change won fair and square.

But, to be just as fair, we're not getting an American healthcare plan, we're getting the Democrats' version. And, in the future, that will be just one of the problems that keeps us divided.

The White House estimates this healthcare bill will $938 billion over 10 years. But no one knows what it will really cost. Medicare, for example, cost almost 10 times more than the government estimated.

But 32 million Americans are going to get health insurance they didn't have. They are the moral part of this equation. And all of us should benefit from the end of insurance company policy cancellations for pre-existing conditions.

In many ways, Massachusetts was the model for the Democrats' plan, and they took the best and worst from us. We did a good job of expanding coverage here, but were not so good at controlling costs. That's what this national plan does, too, which is why "making history" isn't the phrase I'm thinking of, it's "stay tuned."

(Copyright (c) 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)