A Small Victory for Healthcare

Like most Democrats, I was surprised to see the Supreme Court uphold "Obamacare."  I was expecting it to fail by a 5-4 decision.  John Roberts decision to go along with the liberal judges, approving nearly every part of the health care law, and actually writing the majority opinion himself, was a real head-scratcher for me.  If it wasn't for him, this conservative judge, the Affordable Health Care Act would have been dead.  The other four justices wanted to kill the entire law.

Unlike most Democrats, however, I'm not jumping up and down in elation at this law being upheld.  The law still leaves control of healthcare in the hands of greedy insurance companies, and they will make millions off of this.  Ultimately what I'd like to see is universal healthcare, where everyone pays into the system (yes, a tax!), just like Taiwan and Canada and almost every other civilized country, and everyone is covered.   A snake bite should no longer cost someone $143,000 to treat.  A week in the hospital shouldn't make you go bankrupt.  If my daughter can spend a week in a hospital in Taiwan for about $35, why can't we do it here?

So, this law is far from perfect, but it's a small step in the right direction.  While most of the people who oppose it complain about the individual mandate, there are still several things to like about this law:  you can't be denied for a pre-existing condition, your kids can stay on your plan until they are 26, no lifetime limits on benefits, insurance companies must now spend 85 cents out of every dollar on actual reimbursement for your healthcare, not on "administrative costs."  How anyone could be opposed to these particular aspects of the law boggles the mind.

Mitt Romney, the author of "Obamacare" is of course out there promising to "repeal and replace" his own creation if he's elected president.  What will he replace it with?  Who knows.  He, nor anyone in the GOP has said.  I think we'd all like to know his plan, since we obviously can't continue down the "pre-Obamacare" path.

Personally, I don't really understand why the Republicans hate Obamacare so much.  This was designed to stop the uninsured freeloaders from going to the ER for simple aches and pains (which I see at my hospital a LOT) and then not pay a dime.  Who ends up paying?  We do.  Of course, this will still keep happening even after the law is implemented, but the percentage will go way down.  Just look at Massachusetts as an example:  the uninsured rate dropped from 6% to 2%, the majority of the people approve of "Romneycare", and the state is consistently rated one of the best in the country (for healthcare.)  Imagine that: Democrats supporting a law that supports personal responsibility and discourages freeloading off the system, and the Republicans opposing it.  I think the only reason they hate it now is because Obama supports it.

Some Republicans will shout and complain that this is one step further toward socialism, and they shouldn't be forced to buy something or else be taxed.  Oh please...you are already being taxed for stuff you may or may not be using.  Schools, parks, beaches, post offices, fire departments, police departments, etc., all being paid for by your tax dollars.  Why not health care as well?  And believe me, eventually, one day, you WILL need health care.