Quote:
Originally Posted by Platapus
And how much do you think your healthcare costs would have gone up without the ACA? 10%?
It is not like the healthcare programs were working all swell and then all of a sudden the ACA came about and suddenly there were problems.
My contribution to health care also went up... but it went up a lot less than it has in the past 8 years I have been at this company.  |
This.
The ACA, as it stands, does not address nor fix enough problems that the healthcare industry had and still has today. It's still much, much more than what republicans had proposed we do, and its still a step in the right direction. Remember, the ACA is not what democrats wanted. But even in a democratic majority, the democrats compromised and subsequently we were left with a bill that didn't really fix much. It DOES, however, allow people with preexisting conditions to obtain coverage, which is a huge victory for many AMERICAN CITIZENS who were essentially left to die for the profit of the already super-wealthy insurance companies. It DOES, though poorly, address the issue of the people who choose not to have health insurance and, through natural occurances in life, need healthcare, cant afford it, and dump the bill onto the taxpayers. The fee for those who CHOOSE to opt out is like an insurance premium guarantee that if that person needs healthcare that they don't dump the whole thing on taxpayers.
What we NEED, is a better bill. Republicans have been crying bloody murder, trying so DESPERATELY to repeal the bill, yet have proposed NOTHING beneficial for the obviously deplorable healthcare system. This issue is not new, this issue has not been brought about by obamacare, it wasnt fine before, it isnt fine now. It is one of the most defining and serious issues with this country today. The effects of an awful, capitalistic, business-like healthcare system are far reaching and devastating. More people are on some kind of prescription medication than ever before. The american people are some of the most unhealthy in the world. Preventative care, such as regular doctor visits and checkups, are not easily accessable to the average american even WITH insurance because insurance companies have the audacity to charge people 800 dollars a month for insurance and decide that regular old doctor visits, which are like 150 bucks alone, shouldn't be covered. Yet like the old saying predicts, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", yet the only thing insurance companies seem willing to pay for are hospitalizations, while at the same time have monopolized the healthcare industry and made it so unaffordable that the only realistic option is to pay for their deplorable services. The health and well being of the american people should be at the forefront of our legislation, yet the most progressive healthcare bill in decades is being relentlessly attacked, while no acceptable alternatives are being offered.
This is why this country falls on the ropes so often. Because party politics and tribalism is more important to the talking heads than progress. Compromise, contrary to what these useless bureaucrats seem to believe, is not always the answer. But obstructionism sure as hell isnt a solution in any way either. Both sides are always at each other's throats, always out to try and steal, manipulate, and supress votes rather than earn them. They never seem to be willing to stop their useless circular bantering, blatant lies, and embellishing of the truth, and actually do something beneficial for this country. Washington believed that parties would be our undoing and every day i live his predictions seem more and more real. When people are told they must choose a team, rather than decide on individual issues for themselves, they become sucked into a mob-mentality of always voting for your team regardless of how they would feel as a free-thinking, unbiased individual. And its one of the worst things about human nature, is the desire to run with the pack rather than, in this day and age, be an individual.