Healthcare has rated high among internet searches over the past year. The Patient Protection & Affordable Healthcare Act, signed yesterday by President Obama, has elicited both celebration and vocal animosity. Inevitably, many against healthcare reform (to quote political analyst John Oliver) “would rather die of a curable disease while homeless than be forced to live healthily in the post-freedom hellscape envisioned by this bill.” Rather than worry about what partisans on either side are saying, I encourage everyone to take a look at the bill for themselves and decide how they, as an American, voter, and tax-payer, feel about it.
A few of the biggest criticisms of the bill puzzle me. First, it’s too long and too complicated. I’m at a loss to find any piece of congressional legislation that isn’t extremely long or complicated, let alone the most sweeping bill passed in half a century. So if you’ve only read the summary of the 1018-page bill, that doesn’t make you uneducated, nor does it mean Congress made it too wordy.
Second, it’s too expensive. Naturally the fact that the bill costs nearly $1 trillion over the next decade is somewhat concerning, but comprehensive healthcare is expensive by its very nature. We have similar health statistics to other industrialized nations with universal healthcare systems, yet we pay twice as much on average. Cost should not be neglected as a factor, but with all the billions of dollars Congress spends on an extremely colorful budget, the health and well being of the nation should not be relegated to a financial backseat.
Read the bill. Like me, you may not be a health insurance expert fluent in legal terms, and you may find some of the language less than succinct, but the single biggest difference I can cite between the future and the status quo is that we know what the status quo looks like. It’s a painful reality for most Americans, as nearly one-sixth of the nation isn’t even covered to wait in a doctor’s office. It’s a system so expensive, even for those who have coverage, that most conservatives I’ve spoken to are willing to admit that some kind of reform is needed.
So now we have something. Our generation, finding it increasingly difficult to find jobs, can remain on our parents’ healthcare until we’re 26. Insurance companies now must report their budgets to the government, and can no longer drop policy-holders who get sick – something I thought was the very point of having insurance in the first place. Consumer Insurance Information is now required to be online should we choose to look at it. Restaurant chains must display caloric information on their menus. Oh yeah, and you’ll be fined if you don’t have healthcare (unless for religious or financial reasons) by 2014. If you’re having financial difficulty affording it, the federal government will assist you (the main provision of the bill, and the general gist of a bunch of other points within it). Although I admit I’m a Democrat, I’d like to believe I’d be in favor of most of these points regardless.
Had President Obama’s predecessor received half as much vehement protest on any such issue (foreign or domestic), he would have accused his opponents of providing comfort and aid to our enemies. I believe it speaks to President Obama’s character that he has displayed almost no public animosity to those who compare him to every despicable leader who has ever existed, and instead try to work with them despite his larger congressional majority and electoral mandate.
In nearly every mid-term Congressional election, the President’s party is set to lose seats, sometimes even their majority. Since January 20, 2009, tax cuts have been granted to the less wealthy 95% of Americans, the stock market has rallied, and economic growth is up; still, Republican leaders whine and holler enough that they may well spark an electoral reversal for the Administration come November. However, while majorities are temporary and fleeting, major legislation stands. For better or for worse, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is the most important legislation passed in nearly fifty years. All patriotic Americans, no matter what their affiliation, should hope that at least some good will come of it rather than plotting its demise for their petty partisan purposes. All Americans should recognize that however they feel regarding the legislation, history has been made. Perhaps it’s time to take a while to reflect on that.
