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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Polite, rational, and thoughtful discourse is encouraged. Comments that are rude, vulgar, or off topic will be deleted.