In his address after the Democrats passed the Health Care Reform Act of 2010, President Obama said “This is what Change looks like.” Yep, it is. Spot on. What form will that change take? As always, it’s entirely up to us. As he said in his inaugural address, the government can help us, but it’s still up to us to actually do it, to make the changes. Passing the bill was, as the Majority Whip said, “one gigantic step toward a more perfect Union.” But it’s still just a step. Everyone in Congress and the Oval Office knew that the bill wasn’t comprehensive, that it doesn’t solve all the problems. Many of those problems aren’t for the government to solve in the first place.
The opponents seem to be stuck on a few issues. Let’s take a look at them:
1) I don’t want to be forced to buy insurance against my will. I had to laugh at that one — repeatedly. I don’t want to pay for car insurance either, especially when I haven’t had a ticket or accident in over a decade. Nevertheless, it is part of being a citizen to have to be responsible for whatever costs I may incur. Tell me, how is it not our job to be responsible for the costs of our own health care? If not, whose body is it? Nobody WANTS to pay for ANYthing. But then there’s reality. In the real world, you could become sick or be injured. It could be major, catastrophic, life-threatening… and We The People shouldn’t be stuck paying the bill because you don’t THINK you need it, or you don’t WANT to pay for it. It’s really quite fair, (if not biased in favor of youth,) the way insurance premiums are calculated. A 20 year old pays far less for health insurance than a 50 year old. The presumption is that they’ll be healthy for a goodly while longer, while the insurance carriers presume I will cost them money. (I could get on a rant about how, by 50, I’ve learned to avoid accident and injury, but why bother?) Bottom line is that you should have to pay in. And it should start yesterday.
2) It forces the Federal government to fund abortions that I don’t believe in. First off, it doesn’t. Women choose to have an abortion or not to. Neither the government nor a health care program is going to make you have an abortion against your choice. More importantly, by squashing that, the anti-abortionists are effectively cramming THEIR beliefs down everyone else’s throats. But they’re not the ones who will have to postpone their lives for the next 18+ years to have and raise a child. So stop forcing other people to do things your way. If you don’t want them to have an abortion, change their minds (respectfully.) A policy doesn’t choose to have an abortion.
3) It’s too expensive. Even if you don’t trust the CBO, it’s not “too expensive.” It is what it is, and it will cost what it will cost. Health isn’t a luxury. Health care isn’t optional. Certainly, we should all do what we can to reduce costs, and there are many things that can yet be done. While there is no tort reform, though, I really don’t want to hear about how it’s too expensive.
4) It’s socialism; it will take my coverage away from me. More of that baseless fear-instilling rhetoric from the GOP. It won’t take away anyone’s coverage, nor his/her choices. It’s NOT socialized medicine, even if there were a public option. Please, have a clue what you’re talking about. The stakes are certainly high enough for you to do your research without listening to every dull-witted pundit with an axe to grind. At least use some common sense.
In the days, weeks, months and years to come, we’ll find out what’s really in those 2309 pages. Meanwhile, I’ve got to trust the Congress we elected. More than half of them agreed that this was a step in the right direction. It’s a good start. Let’s keep it up, keep it going, and turn this country’s health care system into something stellar, exemplary. In this most wealthy nation, no one should do without or suffer any illness or injury without treatment.
