The Obamacare Infant

The Congressional naysayers tried for the 40th time to repeal Obamacare recently. The vote was purely symbolic; they knew that their efforts would not get past the Democratic controlled Senate. Yet they wasted taxpayer dollars again in an effort to get rid of a law that their wealthy constituents dislike. Their arguments are extreme considering that the law has not yet been fully implemented. Indeed, if I dare to use a metaphor for another pressing cultural issue facing us today, I would dare say that Obamacare is still in American society’s womb.

The conservative Republicans, who at the state level are severely limiting a woman’s reproductive rights, have no problem with ripping the Obamacare infant out of its incubator-like environment with extreme prejudice. In real life, a child’s chances of survival to a long productive life are not much better. Oh sure, the conservatives will guarantee the baby safe passage out of the womb, but once it clears the mother’s birth canal, it’s “Hey, good luck kid!  You’re on your own!”

We can’t guarantee that there will be food for you in case your parents fail this basic human need: sequestration cuts pushed eligible children out of federally funded school lunch programs. Lately, Congressional conservatives have floated ideas of even deeper cuts to the food stamp program. Oh, and don’t grow old kids, because we’re cutting “Meals on Wheels” nutritional programs for senior citizens too! 

 

Yep, kids, this is the message we’re sending. Live fast, die young, and leave a good looking corpse before you become a burden on an indifferent society! And they dare to wave their self-righteous fingers and lecture us on the sanctity of life! What balls!

The Obamacare opponents arguments are extreme, but, believe it or not Ripley, it could be worse. The Affordable Care Act mandates that insurance carriers utilize at least 85% of their premium income on paying claims. If they don’t meet this percentage, then they have to pay a penalty in the form of premium rebates to the insured. This part of Obamacare has already taken effect and many people have benefitted from this part of the law. Granted, the rebates aren’t as big as, say, an income tax refund, but free money is free money.

Conservatives may argue “Oh my God! The rebate is an entitlement! We can’t have that! Why, people will get used to receiving this money every year. Then when, and if, God forbid, this rebate is taken away, then where will you be?” I figure I would be healthier because the money lost would mean one less artery clogging fast food meal I could afford.

Obamacare hopes to cut costs by increasing efficiency in sharing personal health information (PHI). Undoubtedly, this will happen through the emerging and developing technology of electronic health records (EHR). It will cut labor costs because medical staff won’t have to search for and pull medical records, then try to update those records with all of the other records a patient may have at the offices of his healthcare providers.

Conservatives may argue, “Oh my God! PHI? EHR? EMR? HIPPA? ACA?  We’re being attacked by acronyms! Quick, round them up and deport them!”  Of course, all of this data sharing will cause alarm with the conspiracy theorists who believe it will be another way for the “guvmint” to spy on you.

Yet Congress wants to take all this fun away by aborting the Obamacare baby. I’m sure they’ll try to repeal it again, but really, ladies and gentlemen, isn’t it time to turn our attentions to more important matters, like ensuring all Americans regardless of sex, race, creed, and income scale can live long healthy lives?

“Long healthy lives? Oh my God! We can’t have that….”

(Thank you for reading. Live long and illness free!)