PPACA or “ObamaCare” Depending on Who You Ask

Healthcare has always been the cornerstone of Obama’s presidency- it’s the thing that many of us voted him in for. Conveniently he’s waited until re-election time to implement anything. You know, so we’ll all remember come voting day. What upsets me is the narrow minded approach so many are taking to the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act. No one wants to step outside of their clubhouse to really take an objective look at the positive and negatives. The majority are happy about many of the effects: patients can no longer be kicked off their insurance for getting sick, kids are covered under their parents’ insurance until 26 years old, free access to preventive care, and those who cannot afford healthcare will have it subsidized to them so no one will need to go without.

 

What people are really upset about is the mandated tax for refusing to buy healthcare. Opponents are calling it a penalty and freaking out that it’s going to raise taxes. Well, yeah, of course it will – that’s the whole point of socialized medicine. Everyone pays a little so everyone can be covered. Just like our schools, fire departments, parks, and libraries – everyone pays some so we can all reap the benefits. If there wasn’t a tax, the system wouldn’t work. So remain calm, you will not spiral into horrible debt because you’re being taxed 1% of your income per year. Considering the stories we’ve heard over the past few years about families desperate for medical care, people dying because they couldn’t afford a surgery or the ill being abandoned by their insurance companies – the whining about the tax really selfish. No one cares until it’s them, or those they love. Everyone wants the benefits without the bill. Make no mistake; there are negatives that come with this bill, just not the ones which everyone is focusing on.

 

For those of you still demanding universal healthcare likeSwedenorFrance- here’s a news flash: Sweden pays approximately 60% of their income to taxes. That’s how they support that system. They also have a longer life expectancy, a significantly lower infant mortality rate, and less instances of heart disease, which is one of the number one killers here in the States. Finally, this bill will ask that those who make over $200,000 a year pay more- because they make more. A result many have been demanding since the beginning. So dry your eyes, ladies and gentlemen. This isn’t the end of the world, or the beginning of tyranny – it’s just the change we were all asking for.

 

By Magdalen O’Reilly

 

 

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