Health Care Reform Lawsuits

In regard to the all the Republican initiated litigation directed at the recently passed health care reform, do we really need to spend what little money the state has left on frivolous lawsuits? It’s just another way to make the rich richer and poor poorer. This nonsense is exactly why we ended up with the health care reform that we did. The reason polls indicated less than a majority support for the bill was because the Democrats spent way too much time jumping through Republican hoops trying futile attempts at making them happy. By President Obama trying to please everyone, he ended up pleasing no one. Even though the ultimate outcome reflects much more of a Republican influence than a Democratic one, there was absolutely nothing the Democrats could have done to please the Republicans. I myself was not supportive of the bill because it did not include a public option and there isn’t anything in the plan to help reduce the continually increasing outrageous cost of health care. There is no reason it should cost $50K to spend a week in the hospital or $100K for a two hour operation.

But at least the reform is a start, it beats just having the Republicans and Democrats butting heads over it for another hundred years. I think most of us are in the middle and just want our politicians to be somewhat productive for a change and quit adhering to party lines and do what is morally correct and actually good for the nation for a change, instead of continuing to pamper the upper 1%. For the price of either the Iraq war or the tax cuts Bush enacted for the upper 1% we could have already paid for national health care.

It would be great if health care was self-sustaining, and it was just a matter of everyone taking personal responsibility for themselves. But the sad fact is that it is not that simple. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. And hardworking responsible people should not have to lose everything they have spent a lifetime acquiring just because they or a family member gets injured or becomes ill. And people should not be denied health care just because of an existing condition or prior ailment.

As far as mandated health insurance being any different from mandated auto insurance, I fail to see the difference. What difference does it make whether it was mandated at the federal level or state level, the money still comes from our wallets. If we lived in New York City I could somewhat understand the argument, but in Arizona where public transportation is all but none existent, a vehicle is nearly a necessity of life.

But auto insurance aside, how about the tax on, our homes, the utilities in our homes, on food, all of these are essential to are well-being. We could choose to live without these items, but we wouldn’t survive very long.

If mandated health care insurance is unconstitutional, then judging by that logic, Social Security and Medicare are as well. I don’t choose to contribute to Social Security or Medicare, it is mandated by federal law that I do so. I would much prefer to direct that money towards my own investments. But the sad truth is, if we all did that, the majority of U.S. citizens would not have a dime to their names when they retired, even if they were not taxed a single cent for the rest of their lives. Plus the fact, there would not be a single insurance company willing to provide them with affordable health care coverage because of their age.

Most everyone chooses to be vocal about their personal freedoms, whether it’s the biker who doesn’t want to wear a helmet, the driver who doesn’t wear a seatbelt, the smoker, the alcoholic, or the obese person. But in the end, after they smash their brain, go through a windshield, get lung cancer, receive a liver transplant, or get diabetes, they end up costing the rest of us for their irresponsible behavior. Because not one of them is going to decline treatment when their poor decisions come back to haunt them. And the same is true for those who choose not to buy health care insurance. At some point in their lives they’re going to end up in the hospital and the rest of us who have been paying all along will end up paying for them as well.

Older Republicans are willing to complain endlessly about socialized care, but don’t even think about cutting their Social Security or Medicare benefits. And I have heard all the arguments regarding the fact that these people have contributed to these programs for their entire lives and therefore are entitled to them, and I agree completely. However, I cared for my elderly uncle the last three years of his life and I know that with the astronomical healthcare bills that he accumulated in just a six-month period, he more than exhausted all the contributions he made during his lifetime.

So, basically the way I see it, before any health care reform was enacted, the elderly were allowed to receive healthcare through Medicare and the poor were eligible for healthcare through Medicaid, which left those of us in the middle, who actually pay the nations bills, to either find an employer who provides us with health care insurance or fend for ourselves and hope that we never get sick.

I would think that most Republicans would like the idea of mandatory insurance because it requires everyone to be responsible for themselves. But the reason Republican politicians don’t support it is because they didn’t sponsor the bill. Former Republican Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney, enacted basically the same health care plan for Massachusetts while he was governor in 2006, and at that time he referred to mandated health insure as “being personally responsible.” Now that the Democrats have enacted the same plan at the national level, it’s unconstitutional. So, in essence the only difference between right and wrong when it comes to Republicans and Democrats is whose idea it was at the time.

Almost a third of Arizona voters are now registered Independents because people are fed up with the constant bickering of the Republicans and Democrats. Hopefully, this trend will continue and we can start voting in politicians who are willing to work for the people and not just their wealthy contributors. Hopefully, there will come a day when people will actually research a candidate and elect a person based on their character and ideology as opposed to just checking a Democrat or Republican box on a ballot.