Political Pressure Cooker
President Obama signed into law the nation’s first comprehensive healthcare reform.
Did you hear me? I don’t think you heard. I said…
PRESIDENT OBAMA JUST SIGNED INTO LAW AMERICA’S FIRST COMPREHENSIVE HEALTHCARE REFORM!
It was a partisan decision, due mainly to the fact that the Republicans just didn’t play their cards right. When trying to compromise, you actually have to compromise instead of demanding it all your way. Anyhoo, no hard feelings. And it passed. Democratically. With a majority. By following the rules. Some people seem to think the rules weren’t followed, but I just wanted to make it clear that it was drawn up, proposed, and voted on. Without gun shots being fired lol
Anyways, there is lots of confusion about this grandiose bill – I’ll admit it is quite large. Yes, it’ll cost over $900 billion. But, here are the immediate benefits that you’ll see from the bill…
- Small businesses will receive significant tax cuts, this year, to help them afford health coverage for all their employees.
- Seniors will receive a rebate to reduce drug costs not yet covered under Medicare.
- Young people will be allowed coverage under their parents’ plan until the age of 26.
- Early retirees will receive help to reduce premium costs.
- Children will be protected against discrimination on the basis of medical history.
- Uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions can join a special high-risk pool to get the coverage they need, starting in just 90 days.
- Insured Americans will be protected from seeing their insurance revoked when they get sick, or facing restrictive annual limits on the care they receive.
- All Americans will benefit from significant new investments to train primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals, and the creation of state-level consumer assistance programs to help all patients understand and defend our new rights.
Contrary to what anyone might have heard, the government is not trying to take over your life. On the contrary, it is simply giving everyone the means with which to afford quality healthcare and ensuring that patients’ rights are protected. The only people I foresee losing out a bit are the insurance companies – but then their greed is what got us here in the first place.
Thank you, President Obama. Thank you, Speaker Pelosi. Thank you to all who supported and voted in favor of the bill. I won’t pretend that it’s without flaw – of course it has some flaws. But so did lots of the legislation passed during the Civil Rights Era. So did the Constitution on its founding. The important thing is that we’ve started the process.
I’m currently living in a country that, amidst all its antiquities, has had universal healthcare for decades. It’s about time America catches up.
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Oh, and let me address the critics…
Please learn more about what you’re opposing before you speak out about it. I literally cannot stand ignorance. I can understand if you’re against this bill because of its addition to our national debt; that is a valid and logical argument. I can also understand if you’re against it because you’re a member of the upper middle class who makes over 6 figures a year and will be taxed to provide benefits to the poor. Again, valid and logical. I can even understand if you’re against it because you work for a healthcare or insurance company and know that they might decide to downsize in order to subsidize costs – valid and logical. All of those oppositions are valid and logical points which can be debated in a healthy forum. In my own personal view, they still don’t trump the need for universal health care. Still, I can be a mature adult and respectfully acknowledge our differences.
However, please do not speak so loudly against the bill claiming things like “the government is trying to control our lives”, “Obama is a marxist”, and “diminishment of Freedom of Speech is next”. (all of those were quotes by the way) Honestly, where do you get these ideas? It really is pure ignorance. The same things were said during the Civil Rights Movement. Grow up. It’s okay to be against something, but find valid reasons and carefully examine your motives. Perhaps you’re in the wrong country? Because I thought we lived in one that wanted the best for all its citizens. Okay, I might be getting a little harsh, but if you have such radical ideas about this bill, you are ignorant. Read, please.
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Watch this video with Vicki Kennedy’s (Sen. Ted Kennedy’s widow) reaction to the bill:
[http://news.yahoo.com/video/health-15749655/vicki-kennedy-on-health-care-reform-18767442]
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