Republican congressmen made a variety of claims throughout the excruciating health care debate Sunday in Congress — one largely marred with political tricks to delay. From emotional appeals to the freedom loving founders to the threat of communism, the main motif was fear.They claimed there was a new government takeover of medicine (though that happened in 1965 when the widely popular Medicare and Medicaid programs were enacted). They raised the specter of abortion.They claimed the bill was too expensive, even though the independent Congressional Budgetary Office confirmed it would reduce the federal deficit by $1 trillion dollars during the next 20 years.But for all the fear — including predictions of a communist state — the republicans were marked by the realities of the health care proposal.In truth, the bill will cut the costs of the ballooning Medicare entitlement program by $455 billion during the next 10 years. It will do this while largely expanding services for seniors.Now Medicare recipients can go to the doctor for regular checkups — not just when they are sick. They also won’t be caught in the so called “donut hole” where they are stuck between two categories of drug coverage and can’t get reimbursed.Some of the payment for new services comes in the form of savings. The rest of the money is generated by taxes on the higher income earners in our country. Unlike under the happy times during the Bush administration, the framers of this bill didn’t pretend they could cut taxes and increase spending at the same time.The bill also ensures 32 million Americans who don’t qualify for Medicare or Medicaid will have insurance and access to preventative health. This won’t just make our country a better place to live — it should save costs. People not going to the emergency room for their primary care and addressing the medical problem before it is 10 times more expensive saves us all money.Under this bill, Americans won’t be denied coverage based on preexisting conditions or lose coverage when they get sick. Dependents can be under their parents’ health care plan until they are 26.Americans will continue to have their insurance when they are in between jobs — something which could drastically improve the efficiency of the U.S. economy by allowing workers greater freedom to switch jobs. When people are out of work, they won’t at the same time take on new expenses when they lose their coverage.These are just a few of the reforms which item by item are popular among Americans. Yet — as opponents are quick to point out — a slight majority of Americans did not approve of the bill according to opinion polls. This is a testament to the failure of the democrats — or perhaps the success of the republicans — in communicating their message about the substance of the proposal.The GOP is already looking to exploit the situation. Much of the time in the House on Sunday was devoted to a parade of republicans who lined up to say the same words:”Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks in opposition to this flawed health care bill.”This sort of thing is traditionally done to make sure a representatives position is recorded, but you can count on the fact that statement will be used in commercials in the midterm elections rallying against “ObamaCare.”The republicans make an obvious point. Yes, the health care bill is flawed. But they have exhausted any constructive ideas they had after an open process which resulted in the first ever “health care summit” and more than 200 republican amendments to the bill.And sorry, tort reform is not the answer. At best, it would only bring modest savings.The remainder of their argument is to just say no.Health care costs are spiraling out of control. Some 32 million people are uninsured. Health care bills are a leading cause for bankruptcies. Emergency rooms are clogged. The Medicare program is destined to be insolvent.We need reform now — even imperfect reform — to put our country on the right track. It will undoubtedly be a continuous process.Given our current situation, no is not an option.  Mark Macmurdo is a 23-year-old history and economics senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter@TDR_mmacmurdo. –Contact Mark Macmurdo at [email protected]