At the end of last month, due to a change in qualifying income, my wife and I found ourselves without health insurance. Having had the same insurance for close to eight years we had sailed into uncharted waters when it came to where exactly we could find help making a decision as to what would work best for our family. Having had a bad past experience with the transition a couple of years ago between the state and the federal laws, I was apprehensive having to utilize programs that had ties to the Affordable Care Act.
Almost everything I had read or heard about the program was negative. Friends who seemed to have a grasp on political issues and finances told me to stay away from it. Some suggested that I look outside the system and my family would be better off not participating and opting out with the use of a private company. Others even warned me that it was a step away from socialism which is "you know" just one step away from communism. Not knowing where to start I went to our state's website and started scrolling through the endless list of links, all claiming that they could save us hundreds, if not thousands per year on health insurance and assuring me that they were the right choice. Needless to say, my fellow Observers, I was quite overwhelmed as I filled out online questionnaires, one after another, about our finances and health care needs. Not finding any answers in medical copay cyberspace that did anything to alleviate my confusion I decided to call the number on the post card our state sent to inform us that they were cutting us out of the Husky loop because we made way too much money to qualify for any of the plans they sponsored. Seeing as their qualifying salaries wouldn't pay enough for my family to eat paste, I was anything but confident that the very same department could help us find a affordable plan.
That is until, after a twenty minute wait on hold, I was able to talk to a representative that was indeed truly helpful and outside of a few glitches, which is to be expected with any government program, we are in the process of getting a policy that we can afford and has a realistic deductible. I don't care who you talk to, a policy that has small copays, a $500.00 deductible per person and costs less than $2500.00 per year for three people is not what I expected from a health care law that has been continuously labeled a failure.
So what is so terrible about this act that has everyone wagging their acid tongues against it? Seems to work just fine to me. Who could find fault in our government offsetting outrageous health care costs for families who don't have money coming out of their ears or any other orifice, for that matter? At least the ACA seems to be keeping the thumbs of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies off the scales that levy our pocketbooks. Then I saw the examination room light and I realized who. The rich. They can afford health insurance and previously didn't have to purchase it. They have enough money to pay out of pocket for any procedure or medical service they or their family may need. Now, on this leveled operating table, the upper 1 or 2 percent have to purchase health insurance like everyone else, only this time they have to pay more for it than the little guy because the little guy and his family gets reduced rates due to government subsidies and the rich make too much to qualify for them and they don't like it. To prove this point, those "private" companies that I was advised to opt out with by the financially better off people I know would have cost our family over twice as much while saving them five times the amount that they would have spent utilizing the ACA.
Another group that doesn't seem to like it is conservatives. Not because they don't want a health care system based on private insurance. They have wanted a system like that for decades. Richard Nixon proposed a plan in 1974 that would provide insurance for all, mandated that all would have to acquire it or pay a penalty and that would help insure low income households with subsidies ......Hmmmm.....sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it? Back then it was not implemented because Democrats preferred a system based on Medicare expansion. As a matter of fact, several Republican lawmakers that are still around today have been in favor of proposals over the years since that emulate the ACA who are now some of the ACA's biggest opponents. Orrin Hatch, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, just to name a few, supported initiatives very similar to the one now in place. I guess they just don't like the donkeys stealing their ideas.
As a point of fact, there is plenty about the ACA that the Republicans should like. Especially since it now insures more people through private health insurance companies than ever before who in turn make more money that will eventually end up in the GOP's pockets seeing as they seem to be some of their strongest supporters come election time. The misinformation that the party is spreading is effective as not only did they almost have me hoodwinked, according to an NBC poll as many as 48% of voters asked the question "Do you like the Affordable Care Act?" flatly answered "No". However, asked specific questions about plan costs, coverage and subsidies, their "no socialist medical care" tune changed dramatically. It doesn't make sense to be against a policy but agree with most of that policy's stipulations.
One group that defiantly supports the ACA are the insurance salesman. Remember those questionnaires I told you I filled out? My phone is still ringing two weeks later. At first, I tried to be polite. After all, I did give them my number, but after I told the same snake oil hawker three times on two different numbers that I no longer required their services, I started getting a little upset. All in all I'd rather have a half hour proctology exam rather than talk to one of these idiots for two minutes. It would be less painful. I know that I'm going to offend somebody with this, but really.... what kind of job is this anyway? Sitting at a desk in some semi-quasi private cubicle that reminds you of the library media center in grammar school, calling people who at the very least hang up on you and at the most tell you and your children to go hang in a usually not so polite manner, who you rely on for commissions because your base salary couldn't rent a refrigerator box on skid row. This is someone's career goal? There's more opportunities delivering pizza. At least there's room for growth and the tips are pretty decent.
The truth is, my loyal reader, that the ACA is not perfect and I repeat (for the 653rd time), neither is Common Core or several other programs that this administration has spearheaded over the past eight years, but at least it's a start towards something better for our society. I am by no means an avid supporter of either party's administrations, candidates or policies since I reached the age of reason and stopped picking who I wanted to be president based on whether or not they reminded me of my grandpa, but ideas and initiatives are a different multicolored horse all together. Right is right, wrong is wrong and no amount of debating, party bashing, filibusters or name calling will change that. No matter who or what party comes up with an idea, program or law, if the concept is sound and evidence suggests it will benefit the most of the people it will affect it has to be recognized if only on it's own merits.
We have to ask ourselves why would anyone, organization or party stand in the way of a legitimate program that the majority needs? It's almost as if that the ones in power, power that we gave them, want to keep us from making ends meet while keeping our families healthy. Want us on welfare instead of achieving our goals. Intend for us to keep amassing debt. Giving us just enough dirt to keep daylight in sight, but never enough to fill the hole we had to dig ourselves into from the cost of day to day living and raising children. As the Bill of Rights attests, our government was never intended to be either nursemaid or keeper to it's constituents. It was created to mange our system, protect the people and provide for the common good of our country. I'll be the first to admit that times have changes in the last 240 years and our government now faces making policy over matters it's architects never had to deal with all those years ago, however, one thing holds true to this day as much as it did over two centuries ago. Our government was never meant to persecute it's people in order to function or serve itself. Strictly an Observation. If you'll excuse me, I have a doctor's appointment.
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