Creep, creep, creep.

Many may have assumed that with the passage of health care reform, the issue was over. If they did, they are mistaken. Arguably, it has just begun. Issues that were pushed aside or avoided to achieve consensus are coming back into the light. Compromises made to ensure passage of the bill are already beginning to fray. Groups that were ignored or asked to hold their tongues in order to smooth passage of the law are speaking up. Said Jim Burroughs, a professor at George Mason University, "If people don't like the outcome [of health care legislation] they have another bite at it... to alter rules so they're more favorable to their policy point of view." Many groups are lining up for another bite at the apple.

The AARP is one of those groups. It is seeking to make sure that seniors receive the discounts that they have been promised. They are also concerned about the new rule that families cover children up until the age of 26 - an issue of concern for many older parents on tight budgets. Abortion rights groups are already at work trying to ensure new rules and regulations are drafted in a way to maximize abortion coverage. Pro life groups are vigilant and ready to intervene to the contrary. Obama's executive order covering federal funding for abortion will not last long. Orders, executive or otherwise, can be rescinded as easily as they can be issued. Drug makers are keeping a close eye on cost controls that were implemented in the new law and are ready to act if necessary. There are many more issues emerging all the time. Gay rights groups are already concerned about what the new plan will mean for them regarding access and consultation in the treatment of their partners. Health care has only just begun to creep its way into American life.

Under the new federal health care plan, health care has officially become a political issue. It is no longer an issue between doctors, patients, and insurers. The government now has to be taken onto account, and with it, lobbyists, activists, and voters. Each new election will bring new pressures and concerns to bear on the issue. One result is that health care will be in a constant state of flux. No government health care policy will ever be able to take into account the complexities of health care, the shifting demographics, or satisfy the needs and wants of everybody. Government will be forever trying to catch up. Every two years there will be a new discussion over health care. Additionally, new procedures and treatments will be developed. New drugs will be discovered. Costs will change. Insurance coverage will have to be continually modified to take these developments into account. It is near certain that those changes and modifications will be made in Washington with all the alacrity and deftness we have come to expect from government.

There will always be people upset and urging for change in policy. For every group that achieved a victory in the legislation, there is a group that lost. The victories won will never last. They will be fought over and over again. The people who are upset today will be running the system some day and it will be the turn of those now running the system to find themselves with the short end of the stick. Health care will become a fixture in many, if not all campaigns to come.

As personal and intimate as health care is to many voters, it is not an issue that will fade. As people move through their lives, their health care concerns will change. As they or loved ones become ill or are injured, their priorities will change. Health care will never be a static issue of budgets and staffing. It will always be a dynamic issue affecting millions upon millions of Americans. It is because of this that health care will never be behind us. It will always be in front of us.