Another "Crap! It Passed!" Blog.
March 24, 2010
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Surprise! I am one of the Fools that are against the healthcare bill that just passed. I’ll give you a moment to collect yourself after that shocker. What I would like for you to understand is that I am not opposed to a healthcare overhaul. One is desperately needed. I have some core problems with how the bill was presented, passed and the people that wrote the thing.
I don’t like the fact that the bill was kept under a tarp (not the TARP) and we were not allowed full disclosure of what the bill was empowered to do. In order to perform DD one must have access to all available information and thus make an informed decision. When I am not allowed that information and yet am forced to purchase the product directly or be taxed for not wanting to play along that is wrong.
I don’t like how the bill was passed. Normally there are behind the scenes negotiations to get some votes that normally would have gone the other way. But from what I have read about the outright buying of votes with our tax dollars, and the bullying...In my eyes the tactics used were low, hyper-typical of Washington politics. This is not what was promised on the campaign trail by our current administration. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I was taken in by those promises. But many millions were romanced by “Hope” and “Change”. I can’t help but wonder how many, what percentage, are now jaded and looking for a way to lash out. A second issue I have with how the bill was passed has to do with the votes being cast along party lines. I don’t like the idea of any laws being passed that way. It says to me that dogma, not reason and negotiation, ruled the day.
Lastly I think the timing of this particular bill could not have been worse. At a time when the middle class (yours truly) is being squeezed by furlough days, pay reductions, pay freezes, lay offs and outright job eliminations due to business closings we do not need any additional taxes or increases in the cost of anything. But that is just what this bill is going to cause to happen. When hundreds of millions of us are doing our best to just hang on this could push ever more of our citizens towards foreclosure or bankruptcy.
There are some good things in the bill. *Scream of Horror!* Yes, I said “good things.” For instance, it will allow a dear friend of my wife to have health insurance for the first time since she was eight years old. She was diagnosed and successfully treated for cancer. She has been in remission for nineteen or twenty years. But since she had cancer she has been repeatedly denied coverage because of a “pre-existing condition.” This lady must pay for all expenses out of pocket. She is currently saving money to pay an estimated $20,000 in hospital bills to cover the costs of having her first child.
In closing I believe there are things that can be done to drive down the costs of medical coverage. Things like limiting malpractice suit payouts, going to a loser pays system for all law suits, eliminating some individual state laws that mandate coverage for X, Y & Z if the client does not want them, being able to select a plan based on the deductible and/or co pay, have some limits in place that prevent doctors from treating insurance companies like ATMs…you get the idea.
I don’t know about you, but that is all I can stand of me for a while. Have a great day and thank you for reading my ramblings.
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