Why Health Care Reform Is Wrong
Normally, I don't take sides on political issues - at least publicly. But Christmas is coming and I'm getting my usual giddy feelings as the Big Day draws near, so what the heck. I'll speak plainly on this one. I oppose the proposed health care reform. If you support the proposed health care reform, hear me out. In fact, if you oppose it, hear me out as well, since the real reason I think the proposal is wrong may surprise you. But let's try to sum up where things stand now.
Our health care system is flawed. I know this from my own dealings with it over the years. Here's just a quick snapshot of those (blessedly limited) dealings.
I helped my parents as they grew older and were on Medicare. I helped them as they developed various illnesses and began seeing more and more doctors. Just understanding the bills and other forms they received became confusing - almost impossible to figure out. And that was for me, the one trying to help them keep things in order, the one they looked to as someone who understood "these things."
I remember the experience my Dad had in the hospital emergency room when my Mom passed away - and I couldn't get there on time. My Dad thought she deserved to be treated like a human being, not an object to be subjected, in an impersonal way, to the latest in modern technology. (I won't get into details.)
I remember when my Dad became very sick towards the end of his life and I had to deal with doctors and hospital staff, all of whom (with one exception) would not even talk about the plain fact that he was dying - until I insisted on the point. I had to tell them!
That's just one set of examples of a system that simply doesn't work very well. So you can see that I'm not one who thinks things are just hunkey-dorey with our health care system.
On the other hand, I don't think the current proposal will ultimately change things for the better. At least that's based upon what I've been able to figure out from various sources - Democrat and Republican. I assure you I haven't read the 2,700 page bill itself. Have you?
A better question: have any of our representatives? At one point, it seems that many of our representatives were planning to vote for the reform bill without reading it - in the same way that the Patriot Act was passed without anyone having the chance to actually read the bill. I wonder if they've read it now.
By the way, I did take the time to write to my two senators and congressman on this issue. Of course, these days, you use their websites to email your remarks (unless you want to call and talk to a staff member who will dutifully listen to your comments). I even took the time (90 minutes to be exact) to write a detailed letter outlining my concerns - something I admit I rarely do. I received an answer from each of my representatives - a form letter response of course. (My congressman's response thanked me for my interest in funding student education. He - or his staff - couldn't manage to respond to the issue I wrote to him about!)
But all of this is not the thing that bothers me about the current health care reform efforts and that ultimately makes me oppose the bill. It's really a much simpler reason.
Congress has exempted itself from health care reform. They have basically decided that whatever it is they're voting for will apply to the rest of us, not them. And remember that ex-Congressmen retain their pension and health care benefits when they leave the House or the Senate. Did you know this? Now you do.
I'm opposed to this on principle. If it's not good enough for them, why is it OK for us?
Now, am I missing something here? I don't think so. Am I over-simplifying this? I don't think so. Maybe - in spite of those 2,700 pages, and all the complexity of the arguments pro and con - the decision whether to support the bill or not is not such a complicated decision after all.
Our health care system is flawed. I know this from my own dealings with it over the years. Here's just a quick snapshot of those (blessedly limited) dealings.
I helped my parents as they grew older and were on Medicare. I helped them as they developed various illnesses and began seeing more and more doctors. Just understanding the bills and other forms they received became confusing - almost impossible to figure out. And that was for me, the one trying to help them keep things in order, the one they looked to as someone who understood "these things."
I remember the experience my Dad had in the hospital emergency room when my Mom passed away - and I couldn't get there on time. My Dad thought she deserved to be treated like a human being, not an object to be subjected, in an impersonal way, to the latest in modern technology. (I won't get into details.)
I remember when my Dad became very sick towards the end of his life and I had to deal with doctors and hospital staff, all of whom (with one exception) would not even talk about the plain fact that he was dying - until I insisted on the point. I had to tell them!
That's just one set of examples of a system that simply doesn't work very well. So you can see that I'm not one who thinks things are just hunkey-dorey with our health care system.
On the other hand, I don't think the current proposal will ultimately change things for the better. At least that's based upon what I've been able to figure out from various sources - Democrat and Republican. I assure you I haven't read the 2,700 page bill itself. Have you?
A better question: have any of our representatives? At one point, it seems that many of our representatives were planning to vote for the reform bill without reading it - in the same way that the Patriot Act was passed without anyone having the chance to actually read the bill. I wonder if they've read it now.
By the way, I did take the time to write to my two senators and congressman on this issue. Of course, these days, you use their websites to email your remarks (unless you want to call and talk to a staff member who will dutifully listen to your comments). I even took the time (90 minutes to be exact) to write a detailed letter outlining my concerns - something I admit I rarely do. I received an answer from each of my representatives - a form letter response of course. (My congressman's response thanked me for my interest in funding student education. He - or his staff - couldn't manage to respond to the issue I wrote to him about!)
But all of this is not the thing that bothers me about the current health care reform efforts and that ultimately makes me oppose the bill. It's really a much simpler reason.
Congress has exempted itself from health care reform. They have basically decided that whatever it is they're voting for will apply to the rest of us, not them. And remember that ex-Congressmen retain their pension and health care benefits when they leave the House or the Senate. Did you know this? Now you do.
I'm opposed to this on principle. If it's not good enough for them, why is it OK for us?
Now, am I missing something here? I don't think so. Am I over-simplifying this? I don't think so. Maybe - in spite of those 2,700 pages, and all the complexity of the arguments pro and con - the decision whether to support the bill or not is not such a complicated decision after all.
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