I have three problems with America and the Affordable Care Act.
1. The politicians are behaving poorly.
In 2004, an almost identical program was introduced in Massachusetts, only it wasn’t being packaged with President Barack Obama’s face. It was Romney’s, and he had very little Republican backlash.
Now, with health care reform on the liberal agenda, there is uproar over the supposed unconstitutional ideals behind universal health care, going so far as to encourage college students to choose the fine over an affordable government plan, saying that the government has no place in your body.
For some women, this might sound familiar — in fact it is a major argument against the abolishment of abortion rights.
And the Democrats aren’t completely innocent. Obama campaigned against mandatory health care, and then under threat of lobbyists, made it illegal to not have health care come
Jan. 1, 2014.
To touch on the government shutdown: the Republicans are calling a time out due to a call in last week’s game. The Affordable Care Act passed through Congress, and was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court.
The government shut down on Tuesday, and 1 million Americans signed up for health care provided by the government before 7 a.m.
But we aren’t off the hook.
2. We are allowing the issues to be dehumanized in the name of the holy dollar bill.
In the current free market health care system, insurance companies are allowed to set their own prices and policies concerning human life.
Have cancer? You most likely won’t get coverage. If you do, you’ll be stressed to find a job that can pay enough to make payments.
Have health care for years and then get cancer? You can be dropped from your coverage, because you are sick.
So health care is not caring for the health of Americans.
Your tax dollars are not yours. In order to become part of a society and to benefit from the protection and resources in the society, we pay a fee. Our buck stops there.
Then, it’s in the hands of the government. Our only right to that money is our right to vote for political leaders who will spend it the way we desire.
Pressure your leaders to be better leaders by denying them your blind support. Educate yourself on the issues, and we won’t have any issues. And for the love of God, stop being selfish.
3. The Affordable Care Act is not a big bad wolf coming to ask for sugar, only to dismantle your house.
Eighty-five percent of Americans are currently paying for health care, and because of this, they will not have to lift a finger.
They will, however, reap the benefits: companies can no longer drop you when you become sick, or deny coverage if you already are sick. This is great news for women, as being female was previously seen as a pre-existing condition.
Some in that majority will find themselves paying slightly higher bills, but that’s an even smaller population than the Americans who are without health care.
For the 15 percent of Americans who do not currently have coverage, there are now affordable options. If you do not sign up for one of them, you will be fined.
Twenty exemptions are outlined on the healthcare.gov website, including: not having health care for less than three months, notice of termination from a utility company or even if the lowest coverage available to you is more than 8 percent of your income.
And rest easy, all you believers, if you have religious inhibitions to health care, you cannot be required to sign up for it, or pay the fee.
I want to leave you with the assurance that this, like every other American issue, will be mulled out over time. We will see the policy go into effect, find the bugs and then fix them.
But for now, the Affordable Care Act is doing more good than Congress has done in decades.