hopefully the states overturn this...It is very dangerous to set the precident of forcing americans to buy ANY product...no matter how good the gov't thinks it is for you.
The bill is over 1000 pages long, no one has read it, so to applaud it as a success or to condem it as the worst thing is not wise.
I will say this....the penalty for not having insurance is not a "slap on the wrist" its 395 - 900 if you make under 30 stacks a year 1000-5000 if you make 30 to 60 stacks a year, and 2.5 percent of your annual gross income if you make more than 60.
There is no public option so what we have here is another way for the gov't to fuck poor people (they neeeeeeever do that right?)
I dont think the govt should be able to tell us what to do, but I dont know maybe I'm crazy
Everybody's quick to jump on what they think is the negative of this bill.
Let's talk about those making 60k or below as you stated that show up at the hospital UNABLE to pay there bill. Who's suppose to pick up that tab? I'm not too proud to say that I've shown up at the hospital on a few occassions in my life and was unable to pay the bill...shit I never thought about paying it. Couldn't afford it and couldn't afford health insurance. Once again, who foots that bill that you can't pay?
Today more people show up at the hospital that are unable to pay than those that can. Why? Because those with insurance see a doc on a regular bases to prevent those type issues. Most doctor offices won't see u if you are unable to pay but the hospitals take damn near everyone. Do you think these hospitals can keep there doors open at the rate that uninsured people in need are showing up in there emergency rooms? I say hell no. If it were not for the gov't providing federal funds to many of these hospitals those who can pay wouldn't have a hospital to go to. Most hospitals operate in the red. My wifey is an RN on the managerial level. I hear how the financial status of where she works is ALWAYS on the brink.
The few times that I've used a hospitals services without the ability to pay had I had and OPTION to have AFFORDABLE health insurance I surely would have. Once I got older, had better jobs and could AFFORD it I surely did. They only time I haven't had it in the last 10 years is when I was between jobs or the wife was. No one that I know can afford that freakin' COBRA b.s For a family of 4 you'll be paying well over a grand a month!!!!
The bottom line is that we couldn't and can not continue to go in the direction that we've been going. The system has been broken and I applaud Obama for ATTEMPTING to try and fix it. The bill is not as good as it could have been but it's better than what we would have faced in the next ten years at the rate things have been going in healthcare. The healthcare business is going to be wide open now. EVERYONE should be able to find something that they can afford. If you make that 60 to 30k you really should have NO EXCUSE for not having insurance by 2014. People have begun dying again from simple things due to lack of healthcare insurance. Financially as a nation we've been reduced to a 3rd world country....we're trillions in debt thru no fault of the common man. I truly feel that had we not done something about healthcare in this country we would self destruct in the next decade.
The only might we wheel in the world today is military strength and because we're involved in basically 3 wars, Afganistan, Pakistan and Iraq that to will soon be depleted. Military, the financial system and health care are all we got. One has failed, the military is stretched so that it will fail if we don't pack up and get out. But because of this bill we have a FIGHTING chance on the healthcare front. If healthcare crumbled as it was predicted to do in the next decade we'd be royally fucked as a nation. That would be the straw that broke the Camels back. Times are going to get much harder for us as a nation before they MIGHT get better. We still may go down but I'm glad we have someone fighting to maintain our way of life. The average person is NOT READY for the things as a nation we're are going to have to do without before this has a chance of turning around. Some think we're at the bottom of the barrel right now. I don't think we're even half there yet but we will reach it before things can get better if they can ever get better. I for one don't think this country will EVER see the prosperity it once did and because of abuse we shouldn't! And maybe that's what we need. Maybe we need to go 100 yrs not being on top of the world to become better PEOPLE!!!