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| Beyond awesome |
Thank you, Chief Justice Roberts. Thank you. I know so many people who cannot get health insurance right now. I know others who can't afford it. I'm glad that my children, when they are adults, will regard that sort of situation as unbelievable. I'm thrilled that none of my kids will be stuck in the wrong job, simply because a pre-existing condition keeps them from switching to a better one. I could cry with relief knowing that I won't have to empty my retirement account to help out an adult son or daughter who might become unable to obtain health insurance.
I know some of my readers think that Obamacare is a bad thing. But please understand that we are one of the only first-world countries where citizens routinely go without medical care, where hardworking people are bankrupted because they drew the short straw in the cancer lottery. Please realize that, in a country as rich as ours, there are third-world style medical missions taking place ALL THE TIME, because we have not had policies in place that would ensure access to basic healthcare for everyone. That's just not acceptable for the greatest country in the world.
Government takeover? Hardly. Insurance companies are still firmly in place as the gatekeepers to health care. Obamacare merely sets up exchanges (done individually by states) to facilitate the purchasing of health insurance from these private companies. Federal workers already purchase their insurance from this type of exchange. It provides a broader range of choice and fosters greater competition among insurance companies. Sounds pretty capitalist to me...
There's still work to be done, of course. Medicare needs to be reformed, with its fee-for-service structure being replaced by salaried doctors with less incentive to perform unneeded tests and procedures. Mental health needs to be covered more comprehensively, so suicidal patients aren't kicked out of their psychiatric hospital just because their 5 allotted days are up (to name just one problem with the system). DENTAL should eventually be included in general health insurance. Our mouths are part of our bodies, people. Go figure.
But for now, this is enough. This is more than we dared hope for. I'm off to order my Team Roberts T-shirt. Anyone else want one?
Very well explained. Mitt Romney's out and out lies about what Obamacare will do to people is making the rounds and he is being called out for lying. It's shameful that he doesn't really care about the little people. Or obviously, Americans in general.
ReplyDeleteWell said.
ReplyDeleteI had this discussion with my students today. The misinformation is pretty shocking--then again, I'm assuming the source is Fox News.
ReplyDeleteI was so stunned and pleased this morning when I heard the news. Didn't believe it would happen and I have a new found respect for our chief justice.
ReplyDeleteYes, please get me one of those t-shirts too. Justice Roberts showed real courage, making a decision based on principle rather than pure politics and he's being demonized because of it.
ReplyDeleteThe decision makes me hopeful that there are more Justice Roberts in our judicial and legislative system. More independent and thoughtful thinkers, less political puppets.
ReplyDeleteAn idea for the shirt....a crowd of government officials as political party marionettes, Justice Roberts cutting his own strings. I might not wear the shirt, but I might buy a coffee cup.
You said it well, SC. He is a hero today--and for all of us, whether we understand it or not!
ReplyDeleteJust knowing my young adults will have medical insurance until they hopefully finish college and get jobs is a load off my mind.
ReplyDeleteAs a person without health insurance for many years (and former Marine Corps wife), I am also pleased that our justice system prevailed. Nicely put.
ReplyDeleteOooh...I want a tshirt too! I was so surprised and happy that it passed. We still have a long ways to go, but I think this is a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeletePhew! Go Roberts!
Hmmm...having computer issues so I think my comment didn't post. I want a Team Roberts tshirt too! I was so surprised and pleased at the news yest a.m. We still have a long ways to go and no system is perfect, but this is a definite step in the right direction!!
ReplyDeleteI've been away from the internet for 5 days, so this is truly GOOD NEWS to me! There's always, always room for improvement; however, a giant step in the right direction is very welcome.
ReplyDeleteWhat? Really discouraging to see so many otherwise intelligent people going fascist. Government shouldn't 'facilitate' anything. It's always a bad idea, and never works. If you don't think so, how do you like Social Security? Working well, huh?! Public Education? Oh, yeah, lots of neurosurgeons that can't write comin right up! The TSA? Oh, thank heaven. I don't want to rile anyone up, but free stuff doesn't show up by itself. Read ANY quotes by the Founding Fathers, and you will see that they would run SCREAMING from this. Heck, they'd have a revolution! ;D If you're truly an American, and love what made American great, you're heading in the wrong direction. Please don't be angry with my comment; I've spent many years studying the Constitution, reading just about everything I could by our country's authors, and am saddened by the general lack of understanding. What we need is less government- if everything weren't so damn regulated, it wouldn't be so expensive! Private doctors, private everything. It's the only answer. The general welfare of people should be in the hands of churches, charity, and your next door neighbor. In my town, we have fundraisers when someone is sick. We get behind the people who can't pay. Screw the government. I don't want their handouts and the regulations that come with. We're well on our way to all of Marx's 10 planks from the Communist Manifesto!
ReplyDeleteSee, this is where we disagree. Basic health services should not be in the hands of charity, any more than clean water should be. Individuals who do not have their basic needs met (and remember, we are still PAYING for health insurance under ObamaCare, it isn't free) are not able to function as productive members of society, particularly a capitalist society. Do you know where I learned that? In the US military - hardly a Marxist organization...
DeleteAs far as gov't regulation goes, are you willing to ditch the FDA? The FAA? How about traffic lights and policemen? Obviously, too much regulation is not a good thing, any more than we need a traffic light on every single corner. But some traffic lights are still needed to enable traffic to run smoothly, just as some gov't regulation is needed to allow a market economy to function as it should.
Also? We are all already paying for health care for America's uninsured (ever since Reagan signed into law the requirement that anyone who shows up at the ER should be taken care of). Obamacare is just trying to make sure everyone is covered in a more efficient, less haphazard way. A person with cancer shouldn't have to require a bake sale to pay for his chemo. Fundraisers and neighborly help still have their place, of course - for providing child care and meals and laundry services for the afflicted family. But no one's health care should have to depend on charity.
I love (really and truly) reading that people like to help their neighbors/friends/whatevers when they are in dire straits with medical bills and all. But. What about all the hundreds of thousands of people (millions?) whose neighbors/friends/whatevers DON'T hold fundraisers? I know many, many families who have lost homes, cars, stability, all because *no matter what they tried and who they asked* they couldn't cover the bills. Yes, some people may get SOME help, but most won't get any. And THAT is what this is about.
DeleteWe can all keep on helping those we KNOW ABOUT. We should. But our helping them shouldn't be the difference between medicine and food; between mortgage and dialysis; between life and death. That needs an established safety net.
Finally, the stress of NOT KNOWING if the meds will be covered is a terrible problem for the sick person. The guilt of taking their children's security away, because they need to go in the hospital, can be the difference between a successful recovery and long, drawn-out persistent suffering.
Not to mention that not everyone lives in an area where their neighbors/relatives have the funds necessary to cover their medical expenses...and that desperately ill people shouldn't have to endure the stress and uncertainty of begging people for money...and that most people, if faced with a non-urgent medical problem, will simply not go to the doctor rather than spend money they don't have, which leads to a worsening of symptoms and an increase in the amount of care they eventually need...
DeleteTeam Roberts all the way! How much are you selling 'em for? :) THe beauty is, there's nothing stopping us from taking care of our neighbors, too.
ReplyDeleteOne of the leading proponents of this bill, a lawyer (one of the six or seven people who have actually read ALL the papers on the health care bill/reform act/whatever), goes to our church. He knows his stuff and has been all tied up in knots over this bill. He's probably floating on air now.
ReplyDeleteI am a cancer survivor and when this all shakes out I don't want to have to beg a faceless bueuracrat in Washington DC for any services I need in the future when this goes bankrupt and it will because socialzed medicine in every other country is rationed! There are reforms that can be made but this is not going to be the utopia that you seem to think it is. I hope the day never comes when you wish this had never been passed.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I had two nieces that had cancer and were uninsured and they had care as quickly as me and didn't pay a dime for it. So they are not bankrupt and they are still alive today.
You didn't read what I wrote. It isn't socialized medicine. You will still have faceless insurance company bureaucrats to beg for services instead. And it is certainly NOT utopia, it is merely an improvement over what we have now.
ReplyDeleteAnd you must realize that SOMEONE paid for your uninsured nieces' treatment. We all did. And thank goodness for that! I'm not sure how they managed to come out debt-free exactly; but there are many people who are not as lucky: they lose their houses, their savings, everything they have worked for all their lives.
This is definitely a step in the right direction. In Hawaii, we have been doing a version of Obamacare for decades and it has worked beautifully ( and has also been a money saver for our state, I might add)
ReplyDeletehmmm
ReplyDelete1. curious to hear your thoughts on the HHS mandate (which has yet to be address by the Supreme Court - I know)
2. and wondering if you've talked to any actual physicians about this? I think you'd find that they would strongly disagree with you.
Couldn't disagree more. I agree something needs to be done but I don't trust it to the government. As the poster said above, they've done such a great job with education! Yes, there needs to be some type of temporary assistance but this, I'm afraid, will go the way of all the all social services, it will become an entitlement. You don't need to work, the government will take care of you. There's something going around in email that speaks volumes. Basically says that DHS is pleased to announce that they are spending more now feeding people (food stamps) than ever. Then the Parks Dept is telling us not to feed the wildlife because they will become conditioned to expecting handouts and they won't be able to provide for themselves. Oh, my name is jenny
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