The Supreme Court has found the Affordable Health Care Act to be constitutional. Finally, something for the citizens of the nation. This almost restores my faith. Not quite, Citizens United is still the worst decision by the court in my lifetime. However, for now, I am celebrating living in a nation where people are still important.
As soon as I heard the decision on NBC, I began surfing news channels to see how the decision was being spun. FOX and CNN made it sound like America was about to demand that all citizens dress in brown and goose-step across the nation in Facist revelry. On MSNBC I think Chris Matthews might have wet his pants. He should see a doctor about that.
I decided to see how the market was reacting. Not at all surprising, Big Pharma, Big Insurance and other medical industry related corporations were in negative territory. Simply an indication that people with enough money to invest realized profit margins were going to be smaller in those industries and were jumping ship. That was all I needed to confirm what I already knew. What is good for citizens isn't good for wall street and vice versa.
Insurance was the first industry to sell nothing. Maybe in it's origin the purpose of insurance was noble but, over time, insurance became the Big Brother of our problems. Insure your home, car, property and body. Never worry again. For several thousand dollars a year you are guaranteed coverage unless you are affected by something that insurance won't cover. Or if you are sick too long. Or your illness requires too much treatment. Or if you have a chronic illness, a pre-existing condition or an Act of God befalls you, then you are screwed. By the way, they do not return the money you have paid them after they have denied your claim. That's called profit.
I have known people with great insurance coverage who still had to spend every single dime they could scrape together on pesky kidney failures, liver problems or some tricky cancer. I have known people to become ill with deadly viruses or sudden, painful, chronic illnesses and have their insurance company deny coverage. In every case I know of personally, the person with the illness ultimately had to file for bankruptcy, even with coverage.
What the insurance industry wants is for healthy people to buy their service and never use it. That makes them rich and happy. For people who dare become seriously ill, insurance providers become unreasonable quickly. Experimental treatments and drugs are too expensive. Transplants, too expensive. Chronic illness, too expensive. Drugs with no generic, too expensive. Go see one doctor to be referred to another doctor. Ever had an injury that was healed by the time you got to see the doctor who could actually treat you? I have. It's very frustrating.
So what happens now that Obamacare is constitutional? People who have insurance coverage can keep it. People with children can cover them on their insurance until they are 26. People with no insurance can either buy it at a reasonable cost or pay the penalty for not having coverage. Those who want insurance but still cannot afford it will receive subsidies from the government. Medicaid will be expanded. Insurance must cover pre-existing conditions and there is no annual or lifetime cap. Sounds horrible. For the insurance industry.
As it is now, people without insurance wait until they are very sick or suffer an injury or medical emergency and then rush to a hospital emergency room. Patients do not magically start spewing money out of every orifice when they enter the emergency room so taxpayers in the city and/or county and/or state cover their care. We pay for the uninsured no matter what. Now all patients can be treated early, can receive screenings, receive care early and don't have to worry about being denied coverage.
The humorous point to the healthcare bill is that it's genesis is based on the plan drafted by Massachusetts under Governor Mitt Romney. Now the GOP, including Mitt himself, must try to convince us that this will be the downfall of America. Mittens has to campaign by berating the bill he signed into law in his own state. That would be like Lincoln wanting to repeal the 13th amendment. Or FDR reversing himself on social security. Or W. denouncing the wars in the middle east. So, was Mittens a horrible, facist governor who forced mandated health care on his state or is he a candidate willing to say anything to keep his backers happy? I am guessing the latter.
So, suck it up, citizens. Now we are all equal under the medical law. Now the poor and disenfranchised can receive decent medical care as needed instead of waiting until their condition is an emergency. Insurance companies now have to actaully do their job instead of increasing their profit margins. This is good for the country as a whole.
There is only one more change I would like to see regarding medical care. Stop the advertising of drugs and medical devices. I am sick of hearing about peeing too often, not being able to pee, the dangers of a four hour erection, the best knee replacement, etc. These are conversations to have with a doctor. Big Pharma wouldn't have to charge so much money for their products if their advertising budgets were slashed. And I won't want to vomit during dinner when the Cialis commercials run.
You're Welcome,
Lillybell Blues
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