I am all for health care reform because I currently do not have health care and I still won’t if the health care law remains as is. I just read an article on CNN about
I am all for health care reform because I currently do not have health care and I still won’t if the health care law remains as is. I just read an article on CNN about an elderly lady who pays nearly $1000 a month for her healthcare (http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/19/us/embed-america-arkansas-health-care/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1). I find this crazy! But the new reforms will not help her either. They won’t help anyone! I went to the government website (http://www.healthcare.gov/) to read all the details and see how it would affect me and what I discovered is, like this elderly lady, I too will not be able to afford healthcare either. But the kicker is I, like her, will be penalized for not purchasing the (un)”affordable” health care plans spelled out on the government website. I calculated based on my current age and income, I would be paying nearly $600 a month for coverage. That would eat away at my daily living expenses and my diet would consist entirely of Ramen noodles which ISN’T healthy at all! My health would suffer from this poor diet and my cost would end up increasing from more doctors visits. It’s a vicious circle that could easily be avoided if they would take out the penalty in this healthcare “reform” bill. Why penalize someone who still can’t afford the “reformed” health care plans. There should be a provision that provides plans on a sliding scale based on income but I didn’t find any information on that if such a provision exist. A lot of the states (including my home State of Texas) will not abide with the Affordable Insurance Exchange provision (http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/choices/exchanges/index.html) for reasons I can’t quite fathom. Politics! The one key factor that all politicians on both sides fail to realize is 99% of Americans live in abject poverty. It’s rich and poor! There is no middle class. Two-classes! That’s it! If you don’t have enough savings to live on for at least 6 months in case of a lay-off or medical disaster, then you live in abject poverty! If you do not have a retirement savings plan or it has been depleted because of a lay-off, medical disaster, or God-forbid someone stole it then you live in abject poverty. If you live paycheck to paycheck and your take home pay is only a 1/4 of what is listed in the gross amount, then you live in abject poverty. How many people can identify with these scenarios? I do, my friends do, and my family members do! So, how can our lovely government, comprised not only of the president but a congress as well, justify adding a penalty to an already over-taxed, over-stressed, under-paid population? I just shake my head in disbelief at the sheer illogical thought process our lovely government officials have come up with! Some would say we still have the best system of any country in the world. But do we really? I am beginning to wonder.
And remember, this blog is my 1st Amendment right! You can agree or disagree but do it respectfully!
Over half the people in Texas do not have health insurance but most of the people in Massachusetts and Wisconsin do have insurance (thanks to interventions by those states). So I guess Texans should ask their legislators “what’s the problem?” Texas has a great deal of revenue from oil and gas, where does that go? Texas does not have state income tax, perhaps they need a health care tax to help people who need health insurance. Outside Texas, on Wall Street, the average US stock is held only 20 minutes, reflecting millions of trades (bets) daily (by people with a lot of money and good health insurance) — perhaps every stock trade should be charged a $1 tax to help fund health insurance for everybody who can’t afford it. Health care reform, so far, is just a small step but we need a lot more steps — quickly.