I've never made it a secret that I'm all for reform in the health care industry. Although the bill that was passed last night is a huge step in the right direction, it still leaves a lot to be desired. Regardless, I'm ecstatic.
I've had a few things floating around in my head since this all went down last night, so I'm just putting it out there.
Why is it that there is an assumption that because I'm liberal, I'm a non-Christian abortion supporter? My opinions on abortion have changed radically in the past few years (I don't support abortion) and I consider myself very much a Christian. One of the biggest reasons I align myself with the Democratic party is because I have a fundamental belief that we should look out for ALL people, not just for our own family. How is that not a Christian thing to do? It saddens me to see people complaining that they shouldn't have to pay for others to get insured. If you make more than $250,000 a year, why can't you spare a bit extra to help those so desperately in need? We don't make that much and I would gladly give extra of my paycheck to help those who can't afford health insurance.
Some people argue that we should just donate our money to help those in need and that it's not the government's place to do so. I couldn't agree more! But the obvious truth, based on the very fact that so many people are without health care, is that people overwhelmingly will NOT donate their money. It's sad that it needs to be forced, but it's the world we live in.
This bill forces health insurance companies to cover all children, regardless of pre-existing conditions. How sad is it that we have to FORCE them to do so? Sickening, if you ask me. And we tolerate it? And so many of us are against this?
The issue sums up as helping ALL Americans rather than only looking out for number one. Why, then, are so many against this?
PS - Your tax dollars are not going to be used to fund abortions, guys.
Right on, Chelsea! Compassion for others and respect for their privacy does not equal pro-abortion. No one is "pro" abortion, it is pro CHOICE and red herring in this debate any way, which is really about money. As usual.
ReplyDeleteI am so with you all the way. I am also a "well off" Democrat as some would like to say. (New house, new cars, health insurance, anything my little one needs and food on the table (of any sort that we like). And even though we don't make near the $200K range, I would be willing to give a bit of my paycheck to help others. I have seen way too many family members struggle to pay medical bills, including an uncle who died while raising 100,000 for medicine after a bone marrow transplant. I too see this as the Christian, pro-people choice. I too am not pro-abortion, but that is not the only thing that matters here. We have to also consider all the little ones who are here and suffering and need any funding we can give them. I could go on and on. I am a passionate person on this subject...but I'll leave the blogging to you.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school and first really learning about politics and political party platforms, I remember thinking "Christians MUST be Democrats. Democrats seem to be more about helping those in need in society, and since that's what Jesus taught, most Christians must vote for that party." When I learned that religious people, in general, leaned more toward the right, I was really taken aback. I know a lot of Christians are Democrats, but my teenage mind just couldn't understand why ALL Christians weren't Democrats or liberals. :-)
ReplyDeleteWell said, by the way. I agree with you on this bill.
Why are people in a tizzy about paying for someone else's insurance? Medicaid and Medicare have been around for years!
ReplyDeleteWell-written post, Chelsea.
I couldn't agree with you more.
ReplyDeleteI've been following your blog for awhile, and never left a comment, but I just had to this time! I just want to say that you said this SO well, and really have summed up my feelings on the issue as well. I'm also devoutly Christian and very anti-abortion, but I am willing to sacrifice some tax dollars to help those in need as well! I agree that although it's a good argument that we should be able to donate our money in any way we see fit, most people DON'T do this and sometimes it does need to be enforced in other ways. Until churches get to the point of personally funding insurance for their uninsured members the government will have to step up to the plate. Just my two cents.... Thanks again Chelsea!
ReplyDeleteIf you think your tax dollars are not paying for abortions, you are sorely misinformed. Your tax dollars already pay for family planning facilities and they perform abortions. Also, do you know what is now in this law which is by the way, unconstitutional. There was no vote on it and the sneaky way it was done is shameful. You have no idea what this country is in for. The increase in tax rates are either going to force many out of their homes, or force more people onto welfare programs. If you are so excited about government run health care, talk to someone who already lives with it. Talk to people for England or Canada. Ask them about it. Do your research people...you have no idea what this country is now in for. You are agreeing to the first step of socialism and you don't even recognize it.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - I have four different friends who live in Canada and all are THRILLED with their insurance. In fact, none of them have a single complaint. I don't know a SINGLE person in this country who has no complaint about their insurance. I wish this reform were going to more closely resemble Canada's system, in fact.
ReplyDeleteMy taxes will not go up (though I would be HAPPY to pay extra to help others) - in fact, only people making a substantial amount of money will experience tax increases. How is that going to force people into welfare? I can't fathom a situation in which someone making $300,000 is going to need to go on welfare because they're paying so much in taxes. Sorry, don't buy it for a second.
Maybe YOU should do your research?
Thanks for all the support, guys! Glad to see others who feel the same. INFORMED people who feel the same. :)
ReplyDeleteDear "anonymous",
ReplyDeleteI lived in England and was subject to their healthcare when I was in an accident and incurred a head injury. Was I ushered into a system of tests, medicine and procedures that debilitated my life like would have happened in the US in order to milk my insurance? No.
I can't say I was in love with the care I received either. A basic inspection of my working parts, some xrays, a fine ride in a weird ambulance and some pain meds got me through. No one stroked my hair. They could have kept a better eye on my nausea.
But today those are just memories. I walked away in decent health with no medical bills, but returned to a medical system that wanted to keep for for costly "sleep studies" and cat scans as follow up care that did nothing for me.
A hard fact for humans to face is some illnesses and injuries just need to run their course. Sometimes it ends in death. We're all going to die. You can throw billions of dollars to the doctors and you will still die one day.
Who should not have to suffer are children or those with chronic illnesses who *can* benefit from treatment. We have such a skewed system of priorities in the US: spend the majority of healthcare dollars to keep 95 year olds alive on a ventilators for the last 12 days of their lives, and allow vibrant, hopeful young citizens to go uncovered. It's insanity.
xoxo,
Jenna
I live in Canada and cannot understand why people would be against this bill.
ReplyDeleteEveryone I know in Canada feels the same as me. My dad is American and so is his side of the family and they have all these horror stories (that they surely heard on Fox News or from Glenn Beck) about people in Canada waiting months for life saving surgery, in reality I have never heard of that - my MIL found out she had cancer and was in surgery the same day and had it entirely removed, got onto her preventative chemo, and now, 6 months later, is chemo, cancer - and debt free.
When we had Layla, we didn't get a bill in the mail -as a family we pay $40 a month for private insurance to cover our prescriptions, eyecare, dental, semi private room in a hospital, life insurance, and disibility insurance. Our provincial healthcare pays for doctor visits and anything else. And I would never be canceled for getting sick, and our baby would never be denied if she was born with a medical problem. Also - in the US people who cannot afford going to a doctor often wait for their condition to get serious enough to use the ER, which is governement funded when you cannot pay, costing way more then the prevetative care would have cost.
So maybe you should do your research.
Oh, and Chelsea - very well said!
ReplyDeleteThanks Erin! Great to hear your viewpoint!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks Jenna, too! :)
I'm glad to contribute, It really irks me when an issue has two sides, both if which are legitimate* and someone claims the person opposing them hasn't done their research, and then backs up their argument with opinion or "facts" that haven't been researched. Sure, some Canadians may not like this system, I don't know any, but I am sure there are a few, so to use that as a reason not to pass a bill that is actually nothing like our system is ridicules. Actually the American Health Insurance reminds me a lot of the Ontario Vehicle Insurance. If you make too many claims they drop you b/c you are too risky, and if you've been canceled by another company it is incredibly difficult to get insurance else where... but then you just take the bus, you don't end up with a debilitating, treatable condition going untreated, you know?
ReplyDelete*while I don't agree with the old system, I can understand that some (very few) people are going to be negatively effected, if you make over $250K and only look at your own situation
I don't appreciate how the tone in the country is if you are against this bill, you are stingy and don't care about others. This couldn't be further from the truth.
ReplyDeleteMy Dh and I make 250K together, just at the point of now being taxed even more than we are. I currently only take home ~40% of my salary because I am the second income and CA taxes are very high. I will now be taking home even less to subsidize a government healthcare program the majority of Americans did not want.
Instead, I wanted to see real reform- laws to control the insurance companies from dumping people; laws to limit the caps that the companies place on coverage; laws to increase the use of computer technology and therefor decrease costs; increased Medicare and Medicaid coverage; and lastly, use of money to encourage doctors to practice and go into specialties as we are at a shortage, and this bill will only make it worse.
I believe everyone should have healthcare, but I did not want the government to take it over. They cannot run anything correctly- witness the debacle that was the stimulus bills. I truly believe that government run healthcare is only going to make things worse, not better.
Chels- brave post!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous- do you have any idea how our legal system actually works? How was the passage sneaky or unconstitutional? And I am pretty sure they voted on it. A lot. Many times. In fact, I'm pretty sure every news station in the country covered the last vote that passed the bill. So there was definitely voting.
Tiff- Maybe you should just quit your job if you don't want to pay any taxes. Sorry that one part of being an American is paying taxes on your income. And I'm pretty sure the majority of Americans do want change, otherwise citizens wouldn't have spend hours of time calling and emailing and writing their congresspeople in order to ask them to vote for this reform. I called, and I am glad my senator voted for it. Part of the bill that was passed included reforms that you listed; limits on caps, controls on dumping patients when they become ill, etc. Additionally, one of the problems we have is too much specialization- doctors are staying in school longer to specialize so they can demand a higher income to pay off their huge school loan debts, rather than being general practitioners. We do NOT have a shortage of specialists- we have a shortage of generalists.
Everyone- I am so ridiculously opinionated about abortion I could write a thesis on it, but I won't make you all suffer through that. Let me just say- I don't think we should force anyone to have an unwanted baby, but even being pro-choice I don't think I could go through with an abortion myself, even though I absolutely don't want kids. I do think all the anti-choice people should spend more of their time helping prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place (ahem, abstinence education isn't cutting it), encouraging families to adopt babies from unwanted pregnancies, and working to reduce the stigma faced by young/unwed mothers so that making the decision to not abort becomes much more feasible for women in that situation.
End of rant.
AMEN!
ReplyDeleteSarah- I never once said I don't want to pay taxes. My point was I already pay an awful lot of taxes, and I don't feel that I should have to pay even more for something that I don't want, and the majority of Americans, as proved by polls, also don't want. I have no issue paying my taxes, but I expect to be able to raise my voice to disagree when I feel that the money I pay isn't being used wisely or when I feel that I am being taxed unfairly. That is what America is about.
ReplyDeleteIf you have children, then you would be aware that there is indeed a shortage of specialists- pediatric specialists. For instance, it's almost impossible to get a child with autism in to see a developmental specialist.
Just because you wanted this bill, and so did other people you know, does not mean that the majority of people in this country felt the same as you. That's called anecdotal evidence, and it's not a logical argument to use to defend that passage of this bill.
Additionally, I presented my opinion in a nice way, not as a rant or taking anyone's opinion and completely flying off the handle about it (as in telling me to quit my job even though I never said I shouldn't have to pay any taxes.) Maybe you should work a little on having constructive debates with people who have the audacity to have an opinion that differs from yours.
Sarah, additionally, I also believe the passage of this bill was unconstitutional, so I'd like to answer your question to Anonymous, although I can't speak for him/her.
ReplyDeleteThis bill doesn't just provide health insurance, but it forces those who don't want to pay for insurance, and would rather roll the dice of fate, to get it. This bill actually forces American people to do pay for something even if they don't want it.
I could go in detail about why that doesn't make sense and why it's wrong, but I will just say that it is unconstitutional for the Federal government to punish people for not purchasing a product, and it is not something that they should have the power to do.
A state is given the rights to force people to have vehicle insurance if they drive, or homeowners insurance if they rent, not the Fed government. In the same way, it is a state's right to determine if people should have to pay for health insurance even if they don't want it. There is a careful division of federal and state rights, and it exists for a reason. This bill violates that right.
I find it interesting that people who disagree are being ranted against, and so disrespected. I always wonder about people who are so incapable of respecting the right of others to not agree with them.