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  3. Now the politics of US health reform is in a mess but the odds on a bill passing in the end are improving. It will not be a tidy

Now the politics of US health reform is in a mess but the odds on a bill passing in the end are improving. It will not be a tidy

admin2014-03-25  31
问题     Now the politics of US health reform is in a mess but the odds on a bill passing in the end are improving. It will not be a tidy thing, but if it moves the country close to universal health insurance the administration will call it a success.
    At this moment, that point of view may seem too optimistic. Last Friday, the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives had hoped to produce a finished bill. But they failed, because the party’ s fiscal conservatives demanded further savings. House Democrats are also divided on revenue-raising measures.
    The Senate is dealing with the same problems: how to contain the cost of expanded insurance coverage, and how to pay for what remains, so that the reform adds nothing to the budget deficit over the course of 10 years.
    Where the money comes from remains the crucial problem. Apparently, the answer is straightforward: tax employer-provided health benefits. At present, an employer in the U. S. is free from paying tax if he pays the health insurance while an individual purchaser has to buy it with after-tax dollars. This anomaly costs nearly $ 250bn a year in revenue—enough to pay for universal coverage, and then some. Yet many Democrats in both the House and the Senate oppose to ending it. Will there be a breakthrough in terms of that aspect?
    However, to get employers out of health insurance should be an aim, not something to be feared. Many US workers have complained that if they lose their job, their health insurance will go with it and tying insurance to employment will undoubtedly worsen the insecurity.
    What about high-risk workers who are thrown on to the individual market? If the tax break were abolished as part of a larger reform which obliges insurers to offer affordable coverage to all people regardless of pre-existing conditions, it will not be a problem. It’ s true this change needs to increase tax, and many people in Congress are reluctant to contemplate in any form. But some kind of increase is inescapable. This one makes more sense than most.
    The President should say so. His Republican opponent John McCain called for this change during the election campaign and Mr Obama and other Democrats assailed the idea. So what? Mr. Obama has changed his ideas on other aspects of health reform. For example, it seems that he now prefers an individual mandate to buy insurance. Let us see a similar flexibility on taxing employer-provided insurance.
According to the author, ______.
选项 A、the politics of U. S. health reform is a total failure
B、there is no possibility of passing a bill
C、it’ s difficult to pass a bill
D、U. S. will achieve universal health insurance
答案C
解析 由第一段“…the odds on a bill passing in the end are impro—ving(最终通过一项法案的可能性正在上升)”可知，选项A和B不正确。由第一段最后一句“It will not be a tidy thing，but if itmoves the country close to universal health insurance the administra-tion will call it a success．(法案不会一步到位，但如果它能使美国向全民医疗保险迈进，政府就会称其是成功的。)”可知，作者并不认为美国最后一定能实现全民医疗保险，作者只是认为虽然法案很难通过，但倘若它能使美国向全民医疗保险迈进，对于奥巴马政府而言，就是成功。所以，本题选择C。
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