In 2009, during the debae for the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act I happened to be seated at a table with
group of people including a retired military man. During our small talk
somebody to mentioned about the discussion in the Congress about the
health care legislation. I was shocked to see a sudden transformation in the
demeanor of my military friend. Appearing very distraught, he stated, “They are
going to create ‘death panels’ that will determine how long us seniors can live.” I was disappointed that my fellow citizen has no clue about the
Constitutional guarantees for life and liberty. Later I discovered that Death Panels was how Sara Palin
defined end-of-life counseling provision of the bill. This is typical strategy
of the GOP (Grand Oligarch Party) to instill fear and then appear to be the
white knight that will make it all better. But it never gets better for the average Americans.
The bill has been a law since 2009 although Tea Part controlled GOP refused to acknowledge it. After three years of legal challenges and falsehoods, the Supreme Court has upheld the law to the consternation of the Republican base. Some of the Republican leaders in a meeting immediately after the announcement have likened the Court’s decision to the September 11 attacks. They were expecting the court, in following the Citizen United ruling, to declare the law unconstitutional. The Court's decsion has enraged the Republican base and unemplyment and the economy is about to take back seat as an election issue by the Republicans. It is important for the President to explain to the voters the benefits that ACA provides to the middle and low income citizens. Detail of the benefits can be seen here.
Rest of the industrialized nations, while supporting the
capitalist economic model, have a safety net for their citizens that includes
not-for-profit healthcare. By upholding the law, the Supreme Court has positioned
the United States to join the other industrialized nations. The insurance companies
will not be able to refuse insurance because of pre-existing conditions. Insurance
companies will not be able to cancel insurance in the event of lingering
illnesses. College bound children can stay on their parents’ insurance. GOP
will tell you that all this will increase the cost of health insurance. But that
will be a lie. Here is why.
There are estimated 50 millions Americans without any health insurance. About 20 million are covered by Medicaid but the rest either do not feel they need health insurance or their empoyers do not offer one. And when they end up in the emergency rooms, their costs are paid by inflated charges by the hospitals and higher premiums by the insurance companies. Because of the mandate clause, millions will be added to the rolls of insureds allowing the insurance companies to spread the risk and therefore lower the cost of health insurance. The new law make sure that the premium is lowered because it requires the insurance companies to spend 80% of their premium revenues on direct medical services to the patients. Majority of economists and the CBO, the Congressional Budget Office agree with this assessment. ACA’s emphasis on prevention will lead to further reduce the number of patients with serious illnesses in the later years thereby reducing the cost of future Medicare participants.
Republicans, fearing breaking their pledges to their mentor, Norquist, are outraged that the Supreme Court called the penalties as taxes and the House of Representatives wasted 80 hours to stage a useless vote in order to repeal the ACA. But it really does not matter whether it is a tax or a penalty. The affordable health care idea was first proposed by the conservative Heritage Foundation. ACA, including the mandate clause, is similar to the one signed into law by Governor Romney in the State of Massachusetts where emergency room visits have tangibly reduced. If it had been a Republican President we would not be having this discussion. It is becoming clear by the day that Republican Party is hell bent on undoing whatever Obama does no matter what their actions hold for the average American.
Matt Miller, a Washington Post opinion writer, aptly puts it, “Only in America could a Democratic president pass Mitt Romney’s health plan and fund it partly through John McCain’s best idea from the last campaign (taxing some employer-provided plans) and be branded a “socialist.”
Next Week: WHO ARE THE REAL JOB CREATORS
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