I have mixed feelings about this.
From a philosophical standpoint, I don’t like it. My gut says nobody should be forced to buy something, especially if he has to buy it from a private company. And since the “public option” got dropped along the way, that’s what many of us will have to do.
On the other hand, I can see that reform won’t work unless we all participate. Under the new law, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny coverage on account of pre-existing conditions or kick customers off the plan for getting sick. This is a huge improvement. Over the past decade, when I’ve thought about all that needs fixing in our current health care system, that thing about pre-existing conditions tops the list.
There are economic realities in this equation. A recent post on HealthBeatBlog explains it well:
"If the law didn’t insist that everyone have 'minimal coverage' (or pay a financial penalty), many young, healthy Americans might well wait until they were injured, or seriously ill, before signing up for a policy—safe in the knowledge that no insurer could refuse them, or charge an exorbitant premium. If that happened, insurers would find themselves covering a pool made up largely of the elderly, the disabled, and the chronically ill. Premiums would sky-rocket. If we are going to try to provide health insurance for all citizens, the healthy must join the pool…."
So, despite my distaste for the mandate, I support the health care act. And I confess that somewhere in the back of my mind, I’m hoping this will eventually work itself out. If the law works the way I hope it does, if it forces insurance companies to be better corporate citizens, if health insurance becomes more affordable and works better for the people who have it, maybe it will come to be seen as something everybody wants and needs, and a mandate will be unnecessary. Perhaps the changed playing field will give rise to non-profits, co-ops, or new types of health care/health insurance providers we haven’t even thought of yet.
There are some big “ifs” in those scenarios, but I can dream, can’t I?
I admit that, with reservations, I pretty much support anything liberals propose. I just feel in my gut that conservatives tend to want to keep their money to themselves at the expense of everyone else. That pisses me off. So...I tend to support liberal causes.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that I suppose I must admit that I rarely truly understand all sides of the issue at hand. And health care reform is certainly at the top of that list.
Dyanne this is the most informative couple of paragraphs on health care reform I've ever read. I'll click on the link to the resource page as well.
I'm going to link to this over at Maybethinking.com as well.
Thanks!