By: Daniel Nardini
One of the things we are seeing in Chicago is the cutting back of emergency services and medical care for the poor. We are also seeing quality medical care and basic medical services going up in price due to the health care reform being implemented by the federal government. In other words, the poor most of all are getting whacked and there is a greater disparity than ever on who gets treated and who does not. This of course is not just happening in Chicago—it is happening in a number of suburban towns and in rural towns where funds for many things—never mind for emergency and basic medical care—are in short supply. It all comes down to the same thing; when there is little or no funding for the medical services we need, then whether one has health care insurance or not becomes a rather moot point.
This is my feeling in regards to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (also called Obamacare). Because of all the cutbacks in health care funding in the states, this Act may in fact not be able to help many Americans at all. This law mandates that by 2014 all Americans must have health insurance coverage or else pay a penalty. There are in my view four problems with it. First, what if someone cannot pay for health insurance because they are extremely low income, unemployed or self-employed (especially at this time when so many businesses are hurting. Mandating health care insurance is far from the minds of most business owners)? Where are they going to find the money to buy health insurance or pay the penalty tax (which can be up to one percent of a person’s income)? Second, many businesses may simply opt out of Medicaid and any state and federal government insurance plans—thus forcing individual employees to buy their own health care coverage which may be impossible. Third, There is no question that Obamacare is adding to the costs of so many existing private health insurance plans. Imagine what the national debt will look like by 2014!
The fourth and most cruelest cut of all is the fact that there is an ever decreasing amount of federal and state dollars for even the basic medical care we have now. Without money for emergency services, clinic care for the poor (which has been a growing problem for years), or medical services for people with chronic conditions, to be honest Obamacare itself will be a moot point. It will be a truly moot point if all Americans are forced to buy what they cannot afford for services they will not be getting. Our country and people will truly be the poorer for all of this.
Mandating Poverty
By: Daniel Nardini
This is my feeling in regards to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (also called Obamacare). Because of all the cutbacks in health care funding in the states, this Act may in fact not be able to help many Americans at all. This law mandates that by 2014 all Americans must have health insurance coverage or else pay a penalty. There are in my view four problems with it. First, what if someone cannot pay for health insurance because they are extremely low income, unemployed or self-employed (especially at this time when so many businesses are hurting. Mandating health care insurance is far from the minds of most business owners)? Where are they going to find the money to buy health insurance or pay the penalty tax (which can be up to one percent of a person’s income)? Second, many businesses may simply opt out of Medicaid and any state and federal government insurance plans—thus forcing individual employees to buy their own health care coverage which may be impossible. Third, There is no question that Obamacare is adding to the costs of so many existing private health insurance plans. Imagine what the national debt will look like by 2014!
The fourth and most cruelest cut of all is the fact that there is an ever decreasing amount of federal and state dollars for even the basic medical care we have now. Without money for emergency services, clinic care for the poor (which has been a growing problem for years), or medical services for people with chronic conditions, to be honest Obamacare itself will be a moot point. It will be a truly moot point if all Americans are forced to buy what they cannot afford for services they will not be getting. Our country and people will truly be the poorer for all of this.