Political Darkside – Political News and Commentary

The Health Care Reform Bill or as it is legally known, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is more than 2500 pages of legalese and is at least six inches thick. If for some reason you decided to read it, even at the rate of one page a minute and reading for eight hours per day it would take you eight days to complete it.  

This law creates 150 new governmental agencies that will be funded and worked by a hoard of new governmental employees. 

Some of the goals, outlined as a consequence of enacting the Health Care Reform Bill that members of congress and the president have alluded to are listed as follows; lower the deficit, not raise taxes, ensure all Americans have medical insurance and be affordable.

Despite efforts to oppose or support Health Care Reform currently, 32 million Americans are without medical insurance.

Some legislators and citizen groups around the country believe that National Health Insurance attempts to incrementally remove the rights afforded us in our nation’s constitution. Those rights are clearly defined and rest on our belief in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
For example, the bill says, “Citizens will be required to have acceptable coverage or pay a penalty of $95 in 2014, $325 in 2015, $695 (or up to 2.5 percent of income) in 2016. Families will pay half the amount for children, up to a cap of $2,250 per family. After 2016, penalties are indexed to Consumer Price Index.”
In addition,some are saying, if you decide not to pay, it is important to know that the Health Care Reform Bill allows the government unrestricted and direct access for electronic funds transfer. However, the truth of the matter, is this provision in the bill provides access for insurers, doctors and other health care providers. Newsweek’s article, The Five Biggest Lies in the Health Care Debate dated, Augest 28th 2009 says, ”There is zero provision to include patients in any such system.”

What does it mean to have Health Care rationed? Well for starters, seniors will be interviewed every year for health insurance issues and decisions made on what care they can and cannot receive. 

Many Americans are  confused by all of the terms used in the Health Care Debate, such as, Universal Health Insurance, Single Payer Health Insurance, Obama Care and Neighborhood Health Plan. Keep in mind this mountain of confusion is no accident. The reform bill is a legal document that spans our entire nation and network of health care providers. Making even small changes to an institution that covers millions of Americans is a major undertaking but to completely overhaul the entire institutional structure is colossal.