Affordable Healthcare?

Like most Americans, I was surprised by the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known by many as “Obamacare.” While the Liberal Left praises the ruling and the Conservative Right is ready to hang Chief Justice Roberts in effigy, the rest of us are left to deal with the impact of the legislation.

What are those impacts?  I tried to read the health care legislation (Public Law 111-148 and Public Law 111-152) to understand the impact on me and my family. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House at the time the legislation was passed, famously stated, “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.”  Well, I’ve tried reading the nearly 1000 pages of legislation and I still don’t understand what’s in it.

I have read many articles and editorials on the subject in hopes that someone smarter than me could put it in simple terms I can understand.  There are lots of graphs, analyses, and tables of numbers circulating to explain the costs.  So much so that I am reminded of Mark Twain’s quote, “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.”  As best I can tell, the impact for me will be an increase in insurance premiums and an increase in taxes.

What is the impact to the country?  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that over the next 10 years, the deficit will increase by over $1 trillion to support the ACA.  As I pointed out in a previous post (http://active-thinker.blogspot.com/2012/04/taxman.html), the bulk of the federal revenue comes from individual income taxes, so the individual taxpayers will shoulder most of the burden. But the number of taxpayers is shrinking.  A Brookings Institution’s Tax Policy Center study indicates that 46% of Americans will pay no federal income tax in 2011 or will receive more from the IRS in the form of a refund than they pay in. According to the Heritage Foundation, in 1984, the number of Americans that paid no federal income tax was 14.8% (http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/19/chart-of-the-week-nearly-half-of-all-americans-dont-pay-income-taxes/).  As I said before, the country cannot sustain this level of deficit, especially with fewer and fewer taxpayers providing revenue for the government.

One editorial in the 1 July edition of the Greenville (SC) News really made me stop and think about the non-financial impacts of the ACA.  The editorial, “Sense of entitlement is likely to metastasize” (http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20120701/OPINION/307010058/Sense-entitlement-likely-metastasize), is written by Edwin Leap, an emergency room physician.  In it, he discusses patients that have “no sense of accountability, who “take” as a way of life.”  He goes on to talk about patients who demand medical care and other entitlements because they have no money, yet afford iPhones, cigarettes, or drug habits.

I know that some people truly cannot afford health insurance.  But I wonder how many of those who say they can’t afford insurance own big-screen TVs, cell phones, and other non-essential items?  How many are willing to allow others to pay for their medical care so they can maintain their lifestyle? Can this country afford to subsidize the lifestyles of such people?

Dr. Leap summarizes his editorial by saying “If anyone thinks that providing a means to insurance for everyone will make all people better or healthier, they’re wrong. While it will likely benefit many, the patients I’m discussing won’t work on their diets, smoking, drinking, Meth use or their serial paternity.” He goes on to say, “All they’ll understand is that there’s one more way to get things they want without contributing to the solution.”

It’s true that health care reforms that lower the costs of health care are needed.  But this country can’t afford to finance more government dependence. Health care reform and the ACA are sure to be hot buttons during the upcoming elections.  Learn about the candidates’ position on health care reforms, learn about alternative reform ideas, and by all means vote.  The consequences are too grave to be uninformed about this issue and to sit on the sidelines while the outcome is decided by others.