In a Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017 photo, a large crowd listens at the rally for health care at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich. Thousands of people showed up in freezing temperatures on Sunday in Michigan to hear Sanders denounce Republican efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law, one of dozens of rallies Democrats staged across the country to highlight opposition. (Robin Buckson/The Detroit News via AP)
As we enter into the unknown with Congress voting on repealing the Affordable Care Act without any mention of a replacement plan, it seems as if the country is screaming its dissent in a vacuum.
More Americans are open to federal health care then are against it. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll from last year found almost two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) had a positive reaction to “Medicare-for-all.” The same Kaiser poll found 36 percent supported building on the Affordable Care Act and 24 percent want guaranteed coverage through a single government plan. Sixteen percent wanted a repeal without a replacement, and 13 percent supported repealing the ACA and replacing it with a Republican alternative.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) currently insures more than 24 million Americans, and the number of Americans without insurance —about 29 million according to the U.S. Census Bureau — steadily declines each year.
The health care of millions of Americans should not be a political football. Yes, premiums are increasing by 25 percent, deductibles are increasing and Medicaid expansion isn’t convenient for a couple of states, especially those that can only offer few or one health care option. Those are absolutely concerns, but concerns that could be fixed improved. The question is, are we fully-realized people, or just some inconvenient statistics on a spreadsheet?
I admit, I’m biased here, because I benefit from the program. I’m almost 25, and I’m thankful I can still be on my dad’s job’s health insurance policy until I’m 26, which is possible under Obamacare. I also believe it’s irrefutable that the clause that prevents denial or over-charging for people with pre-existing conditions is important—if not a human right.
Medical bills and debt are the number one cause of family bankruptcies, according to findings by NerdWallet Health, a division of the price-comparison website. Affordable health care should be a priority for this country’s well-being.
So let’s say we somehow get our act together and get our tax dollars working better for all of us. There’s the issue that federally mandated health care means workers’ tax dollars may work against their religious beliefs, e.g. paying for contraceptives.
Well, let’s take a look at how Planned Parenthood benefits from the government, the poster child for federal funding for women’s health and maybe the most controversial organization out there.
The health organization receives $528 million, or 40 percent from the federal government, according to their latest annual report. They receive the money from two federal programs, Medicaid, the health care program that aids lower-income Americans, and Title X, a federal family planning program that primarily serves lower-income Americans.
The vast majority of Planned Parenthood’s services are for STI/STD treatment (42 percent) and contraception (34 percent). Three percent (328,000) of the 10.6 million services it provided in 2014 were used toward abortion services, according to the organization’s annual report.
Contrary to popular belief, Planned Parenthood cannot receive funding for abortion practices under Title X. Medicaid, on the other hand, allows funding to be put toward abortion services but only in the case of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother. Currently, 17 states go beyond that and cover all or “medically necessary” abortions, according to 2017 data by the Guttmacher Institute. We live in Arkansas, and obviously we are not one of those 17 states.
While this is a different column to write, I think it’s imperative women have easy and affordable access to contraceptives if people want to see the need for abortions vanish or have it prohibited. However, that’s not the case, and women are still getting dealt the raw deal and all of the blame for it.
There are absolutely flaws ranging from minor to major with the ACA. It’s an easy criticism to make, but even with the issues, how will our nation’s situation improve by essentially deleting national health care from millions of lives?
The way I see it, the ACA is like a first car. Let’s imagine in this hypothetical that our country, and for the sake of this analogy our country is “you” a 16 year-old, and you’re lucky enough that your parents (our government) are buying you your first car. They are going to pay for it outright, because you need it to go to the new job you just got hired for, and to go to school. It’s just a necessity at this point. Even though they don’t like you using the car for joy rides or driving it to your skeezy boyfriend or girlfriend’s house, they can’t stop you from doing that.
However, the car they bought you has a few issues with the transmission and it seems to be leaking oil. These are fixable issues, but they’re increasingly becoming more and more of a problem and thus more expensive for you to deal with. On top of that, the older model car guzzles gas, and the price of gas per barrel is going up by 25 percent (the ACA premiums).
You can’t really afford a new transmission or a solution to your oil problem right now. You’ve asked your parents, but they can’t agree to help you, and would rather you figure out how to handle the situation on your own. If you put some time in and budget, it’s possible for you to afford the repairs and improve the performance of your car. It will be tough, and not even guaranteed. Or, if you come to your parents with a plan of action, it’s possible they could help figure out what to do.
The other option in this case is, hell, why not just scrap it entirely? Just get rid of it, transmission problems and all. Sure, you’d be without a car for a while, but you don’t have to deal with those problems anymore. You can buy a new car yourself and pay off the debt you can’t afford over the next decade or longer, or hope you can get by on taxi rides alone.
Repealing Obamacare: Scorched Earth Policy Isn’t Policy At All
In a Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017 photo, a large crowd listens at the rally for health care at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich. Thousands of people showed up in freezing temperatures on Sunday in Michigan to hear Sanders denounce Republican efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law, one of dozens of rallies Democrats staged across the country to highlight opposition. (Robin Buckson/The Detroit News via AP)
As we enter into the unknown with Congress voting on repealing the Affordable Care Act without any mention of a replacement plan, it seems as if the country is screaming its dissent in a vacuum.
More Americans are open to federal health care then are against it. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll from last year found almost two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) had a positive reaction to “Medicare-for-all.” The same Kaiser poll found 36 percent supported building on the Affordable Care Act and 24 percent want guaranteed coverage through a single government plan. Sixteen percent wanted a repeal without a replacement, and 13 percent supported repealing the ACA and replacing it with a Republican alternative.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) currently insures more than 24 million Americans, and the number of Americans without insurance —about 29 million according to the U.S. Census Bureau — steadily declines each year.
The health care of millions of Americans should not be a political football. Yes, premiums are increasing by 25 percent, deductibles are increasing and Medicaid expansion isn’t convenient for a couple of states, especially those that can only offer few or one health care option. Those are absolutely concerns, but concerns that could be fixed improved. The question is, are we fully-realized people, or just some inconvenient statistics on a spreadsheet?
I admit, I’m biased here, because I benefit from the program. I’m almost 25, and I’m thankful I can still be on my dad’s job’s health insurance policy until I’m 26, which is possible under Obamacare. I also believe it’s irrefutable that the clause that prevents denial or over-charging for people with pre-existing conditions is important—if not a human right.
Medical bills and debt are the number one cause of family bankruptcies, according to findings by NerdWallet Health, a division of the price-comparison website. Affordable health care should be a priority for this country’s well-being.
So let’s say we somehow get our act together and get our tax dollars working better for all of us. There’s the issue that federally mandated health care means workers’ tax dollars may work against their religious beliefs, e.g. paying for contraceptives.
Well, let’s take a look at how Planned Parenthood benefits from the government, the poster child for federal funding for women’s health and maybe the most controversial organization out there.
The health organization receives $528 million, or 40 percent from the federal government, according to their latest annual report. They receive the money from two federal programs, Medicaid, the health care program that aids lower-income Americans, and Title X, a federal family planning program that primarily serves lower-income Americans.
The vast majority of Planned Parenthood’s services are for STI/STD treatment (42 percent) and contraception (34 percent). Three percent (328,000) of the 10.6 million services it provided in 2014 were used toward abortion services, according to the organization’s annual report.
Contrary to popular belief, Planned Parenthood cannot receive funding for abortion practices under Title X. Medicaid, on the other hand, allows funding to be put toward abortion services but only in the case of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother. Currently, 17 states go beyond that and cover all or “medically necessary” abortions, according to 2017 data by the Guttmacher Institute. We live in Arkansas, and obviously we are not one of those 17 states.
While this is a different column to write, I think it’s imperative women have easy and affordable access to contraceptives if people want to see the need for abortions vanish or have it prohibited. However, that’s not the case, and women are still getting dealt the raw deal and all of the blame for it.
There are absolutely flaws ranging from minor to major with the ACA. It’s an easy criticism to make, but even with the issues, how will our nation’s situation improve by essentially deleting national health care from millions of lives?
The way I see it, the ACA is like a first car. Let’s imagine in this hypothetical that our country, and for the sake of this analogy our country is “you” a 16 year-old, and you’re lucky enough that your parents (our government) are buying you your first car. They are going to pay for it outright, because you need it to go to the new job you just got hired for, and to go to school. It’s just a necessity at this point. Even though they don’t like you using the car for joy rides or driving it to your skeezy boyfriend or girlfriend’s house, they can’t stop you from doing that.
However, the car they bought you has a few issues with the transmission and it seems to be leaking oil. These are fixable issues, but they’re increasingly becoming more and more of a problem and thus more expensive for you to deal with. On top of that, the older model car guzzles gas, and the price of gas per barrel is going up by 25 percent (the ACA premiums).
You can’t really afford a new transmission or a solution to your oil problem right now. You’ve asked your parents, but they can’t agree to help you, and would rather you figure out how to handle the situation on your own. If you put some time in and budget, it’s possible for you to afford the repairs and improve the performance of your car. It will be tough, and not even guaranteed. Or, if you come to your parents with a plan of action, it’s possible they could help figure out what to do.
The other option in this case is, hell, why not just scrap it entirely? Just get rid of it, transmission problems and all. Sure, you’d be without a car for a while, but you don’t have to deal with those problems anymore. You can buy a new car yourself and pay off the debt you can’t afford over the next decade or longer, or hope you can get by on taxi rides alone.
What would you do?
Thanks for reading.