Last night the health care bill that has been in the making for over a full year was passed. It has enabled a pretty strong reaction from
You're scared because Glen told you to be, but you really don't need to be... crazy person.
both the left and the right, but I wanted to write about what the bill and what it isn’t, despite what some very uninformed individuals are calling it.
A Government Takeover of Health Care
This claim is among the most commonly used, but incredibly inaccurate in this case. This bill is very capitalist in essence, since the main provider for health care remains the insurance industry and not the government. There has been unending cries of “socialism” against this bill, and I personally with they had been more accurate. Many people believe that socialism is inherently evil because Ronald Reagan made it seem that way during the cold war.
The fact is, America has socialist groups like the police and military who have enough power– and the means– to do anything. Yet, even as they control tanks and fighter jets and enough nuclear weapons to end life on earth, the conservative movement in America wants you to think that government involvement in health care would somehow threaten your freedom. It just doesn’t add up. Even though this bill is not socialist, the scare tactics that the conservative movement has employed has many Americans feeling scared over something that shouldn’t scare them.
An Entitlement Program
Maybe, but this is something I think that people are actually entitled to. We believe that if criminals are stealing our property, the government should protect us. We think if our property is on fire, the government should protect us. If another country threatens our borders, we expect the government to step up and protect us. But if a child has Cancer, conservatives tell you that they never asked for a handout, and they don’t want to give you one just because you’re not willing to work. It’s hypocrisy of the worst kind, and it’s absolutely un-Christian.
It’s Not Perfect
This bill does have a few things that don’t excite me. Namely, mandatory insurance purchase. I understand that huge costs are inflated because people don’t have insurance and the government foots the bill for any emergency care that people can’t afford to pay, but I’m not sure this solves the problem. Aren’t most people not buying because they can’t afford it? Sure, there are some people who can afford insurance and choose not to, but I think they are the exception rather than the rule.
It was needed
Our current system sucks. Really bad. And not even just for the millions of uninsured people, or the millions denied care due to pre-existing conditions. I’m talking about the people who pay their insurance, and when they need care are denied it for some dishonest technicality. I’m talking about Americans who have paid insurance for 50 years, and when their Cancer treatments become too expensive for the insurance company, the customer gets cut off. It’s absolutely immoral, and we needed to move in the right direction.
We still have a long way to go. Our infant mortality rates and life expectancy rates are not where they should be, and our costs are still sky high. But if this would have failed, it would have been a crushing defeat to the hopes of future reform and a tightened stranglehold by an insurance industry whose only interest is profit.
