The Good, the Bad, and the ObamaCare!

Much has been written over the last few years about ObamaCare so it would stand to reason that more people would know more about the law. But then again much has been written and said about last Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare so it would stand to reason that there would be more Court Scholars there are out there by now. But in reality there are good parts, there are bad parts, and then there is the fact that no comprehensive bill will ever work – ObamaCare is no exception.

Both sides of the political aisle have their opinions on the subject and most people are only too happy to give their opinion. Having been in the Navy, on my own as an independent contractor and covered under my wife’s healthcare plan; I can honestly look at all the different methods of coverage and I have a fairly good idea of how they all work – Not well. But for the purposes of this blog entry, me the Republican, took a look at the law without the bloated partisan talking points and just looked at the facts from the website recommended by one of my Democrat friends.

So the good, everyone likes to start with the good. Most people will agree that many of these items are good and have needed to be handled many years ago.

1.       Keeping kids on parents insurance until they are 26.

2.       No denials of insurance based on pre-existing conditions.

3.       Better approval policies for the FDA of generic drugs.

4.       Prevention screenings that do not count against your deductable (some with a small or no co-pay).

5.       The eventual elimination of yearly and/or lifetime spending limits.

These are some good things that have needed to be done for a while and there are more; however, there are some that are not productive and will have a detrimental effect on the economy and people’s welfare.

1.       Insurance companies can’t refuse to cover children. This sounds like a great idea and it is; however, the law allowed companies to drop their independent children’s coverage by a certain date in 2011. Most of them did leaving independent children’s coverage to the government thereby limiting most families choices to Medicaid or out-of-pocket (this one I know from personal experience).

2.       Businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to offer employer sponsored health-insurance (government approved of course). How many small businesses will stifle expansion in the face of this mandate?

3.        Places a limit of $2,500.00 on tax free spending for a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). More people will be less likely to have an FSA as this has long been a benefit in that a person would be more interested in investing in an FSA due to its tax-free status.

4.       New taxes on Pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment to help pay for ObamaCare. Who actually pays those taxes, the company or the end-user?

5.       A new tax on healthcare companies based on market share. Making health care companies less likely to expand services for fear of increasing their tax load.

6.       A new tax of so-called “Cadillac” health plans. These are the very same plans John McCain proposed taxing during the 2008 election. The same tax that then candidate Obama said was going to wreak havoc on the middle-class and would cost American taxpayers billions of dollars. Of Course during the election Obama said it was a bad idea because it would affect the middle-class worker (aka Union Worker), and now he claims it only affects the “Fat-Cats”.

MISSING IN ACTION – and lastly, one thing that needed to be in the bill but wasn’t, Tort Reform. Talk to ANY doctor and they will explain it that clearly their biggest concern outside of the actual patient’s health is the fear of an unwarranted malpractice suit.

So there you have it, a short list of the good and the bad, both are abridged for this blog so don’t think this is a complete list or argument against ObamaCare. No doubt about it, Health Care Reform in this country is needed, but it must be done in steps that work for the greater good and not one giant comprehensive bill. There are good parts to ObamaCare and not so good. Yes nothing is perfect, but we should strive for something that is of benefit to the most people possible and one giant cookie cutter approach will NEVER work for the entire country.

Each of these items could be passed independently of each other but aligned to work in conjunction with each other. Using this approach compromises would be easier to come by, decisions would be much effortless to make, and the conclusions would provide for better feedback and be less stressful to correct. A single item can be corrected easy in government, but correcting a comprehensive bill is difficult at best as every item in some way affects another.

In short, there is a need to come together and create legislation that provides solid solutions consisting of insurance renovation, Medicaid/Medicare renovation, improved cost control systems, and Tort Reform. But like everything else with the present state of politics, the art of compromise and good governing has been lost on most of the current slate of elected officials on both sides of the political spectrum. Healthcare is a serious issue in the United States and desperately needs to be fixed, but ObamaCare is not that fix and regardless of what is written, there is still much to be done.

I need an aspirin now!

Bill