Why I (dis)approve of the new Health Care Bill

I bet I can find 1 person who is tired of seeing status updates of who’s joining the group that can find 1,000,000 people who DO NOT or DO approve of the new health care bill.

I was seriously tempted to make that my status update the other day, but decided against it. I have friends on both sides of the debate that I didn’t want to demean, but I do mean it. I’m not going to create a group or anything, but my frustration over this divisive issue gave me reason to pause and reflect.

I think the reason why these groups frustrate me so much is that I can easily join both groups. Of course the thoughtless and polarizing remarks that are posted on the walls of each these groups is reason enough get me angry, but there isn’t much I can do about irrational people. But, how can I justify being both in approval and disapproval of the recent health care reform bill?

I APPROVE of the recent health care bill because a) insurance companies are going to be held accountable b) more people will have access to moderately good health care c) people cannot be denied health insurance.

Explanation: I have not had health insurance much of my adult life, so I do not have much personal experience with getting treated unfairly by insurance companies. A number of my friends, colleagues, and family members however, have. In fact, I heard another story today of a man with leukemia who was dropped by his insurance company and now has to pay around $24,000 a year in health bills. Essentially he is being penalized for surviving cancer. How can any sane person possibly think this kind of behavior by an insurance company is justified. Fortunately most people agree that this isn’t fair. On the second point, a larger chunk of people, including people like me will have a better shot at getting good health care. Not great, but adequate. Only the rich will continue to be the most healthy, and therefore stay a couple steps ahead of the game. Lastly, and I believe the most important piece of this bill is that people with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage (nor can people be dropped because they actually have to use the coverage they are paying for). The way that insurance companies treated sick people was simple discrimination. I’m sure there will be new ways to discriminate, but hopefully it will be minimal at best. A dear friend of mine with a condition she has had since she was a child will finally get to hear a company tell her that she is covered. Over the past few years, I had tried to nudged her to move to move to Europe so at least she could get the care she needed. And she would have, no question about it, no matter how much rhetoric we might hear from the conservatives about how poor the European system is. But now, she’ll have access to the treatment she needs to live a fuller life.

I DISAPPROVE of the recent health care because a) I think that it is unconstitutional (not to mention unjust) to make people pay for health care b) the vote shows politics is all about making deals and not for the people c) the bill simply did not go far enough.

Explanation: On this point of making people pay for health insurance, I think I agree with the conservatives. I don’t think it is right to make people buy anything, even something as essential as health insurance. But the conservatives better be careful in their lawsuits and fight on this point, because it may force our government into a free public option unintentionally, which of course I’d be okay with. I should also note that when I use the term ‘free’ I understand that nothing is free. In the same way that our pre-college education, public libraries, mail service, etc is free to us (comes to us via our taxes), our health care should be public. More on that in a moment. My second reason for disapproving of the bill is, a little weak and judgmental I admit, but I am so sick of politics as usual. “I’ll scratch your back, if you scratch mine.” Why don’t politicians own their own convictions (backscratchers) and make decisions based on what the people want. I understand that there are politicians who basically gave away their position with their recent vote, but overall I remain suspicious of the entire system of cutting deals and selling out.

The last point again is the most significant for me. I hear the lines from President Obama that it basically the best, but it’s a start. How about not letting everyone off the hook. Bottom line is that this bill is not good enough. It is not universal health care and therefore it did not go far enough. I get the arguments about waiting in lines, and quality of care going down with a socialized health plan. But can we not learn from our friends to the North and across the pond and create an even better universal health care system. Our nation’s leaders and die hard patriots are always yammering on about being the best. Best armed forces, best economy, best democracy, best education (all of which we are not), but never have I heard “Let’s be the healthiest nation in the world.” Why? Under this system, the poorest people in America will still be the least healthy and the richest will be the most healthy. The is not good enough President, Senators, Representatives, Governors, Council members, etc. You could have done better and should have done better. But yeah it was a start, but I’m skeptical as to how it will get finished, if it ever does.

So, I’ll (not) join your facebook groups, but not for the reasons you want me to. I can (dis)approve of the new health care bill. Please fix it as soon as possible.

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