Did Health Care Reform Die With Ted Kennedy

For over four decades, Kennedy has fought to bring reform to the health care industry. He spent his last few months continuing that battle.

With his health declining, Senator Kennedy was forced to continue his fight for health care reform from his home. Due to his health, Kennedy had been absent from the Senate floor since April. With the current battle of President Obama's health care reform being debated by both sides, Kennedy’s absence has been felt.

Just this past Sunday, Republican Senator John McCain spoke on ABC's This Week about the impact Kennedy's absence was having on the health care reform debate. "No person in that institution is indispensable, but Ted Kennedy comes as close to being indispensable as any individual I've ever known in the Senate because he had a unique way of sitting down with the parties at a table and making the right concessions," McCain said "It's huge that he's absent, not only because of my personal affection for him, but because I think the health care reform might be in a very different place today."

Kennedy, a Democrat, was well liked by many Republicans in the Senate. He was known for getting both sides to work out compromises. Now with his death, some wonder if his dream of health care reform will ever happen.

In a letter to the Massachusetts Governor Patrick dated July 2nd of this year, Kennedy made the request for the state law to be changed to allow the Governor to be able to appoint a temporary replacement for his open seat when it occurred. Called Kennedy's dying wish letter, the Senator was working to help secure the desperately needed votes for Obama's health care reform.

Current law states an open seat must be filled by a special election roughly five months after the opening occurs. In the tight battle for health care reform, it could come down to every vote counting as to if it passes or not. Waiting five months for a replacement for Kennedy may spell doom for another health care reform attempt.

The Obama health care reform plan is not the first plan Kennedy has fought for. In the 1970s during the Nixon administration, Kennedy led the fight for health care reform; again in the 1990s during the Clinton administration. Both attempts for health care reform failed. Kennedy continued to fight for what he considered his purpose in life, a health care reform plan.

While Kennedy did not live to see his dream of health care reform to come true, his accomplishments as a Senator are many. His accomplishments include improvements on civil rights issues, increasing the minimum wage, and in the areas of education and welfare.

Ted Kennedy was first diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last May after he suffered a seizure at his home on Cape Cod. Kennedy's health had declined to the point that he missed the funeral of his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver just a few weeks ago. Kennedy also missed the recent ceremony where he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama.

Ted Kennedy will be missed on the Senate floor. His death leaves a void in the battle for health care reform. The question now is who will take up Kennedy's battle or did health care reform die with him.

Written by Denise Clay