Healthcare Reform Archives - A Father of Twin Boys

Today is Health Care Day 2 for the Supreme Court and their hearing of oral arguments on whether or not the Health Care plan that President Obama signed into law was constitutional or not? And at the center of the arguments today is the highly contested and most often questions, Individual Mandate. I discussed yesterday my views on Health Care and what I thought that should be done, but I was asked by a friend, what does Health Care have to do with your sons?

Here it is in a nut shell. If the law, as it is today, stands and goes into effect in 2014, there are a few things that could have an effect on the boys:

If everyone is required to have medical insurance, getting an appointment if the boys are sick, will be that much harder with their Doctor.
If small businesses are required to pay more for health care, then jobs could be slashed from employees.
If jobs are slashed and cost of goods and services go up, that means, that as the parents of these boys, we have less money to spend on them.
If we have less money to spend on the boys, that means less spending on family outings, meals out, baseball games, college savings, etc.

So, yes, this current Health Care bill does have an effect on my sons. It has an effect on all of us. I think that most agree that we have a health care issue, the difference is, I think that what is being proposed is going to do more long term harm than good. All American’s deserve the right to have Health Care, but it is the individuals right if they want it or not. And I for one, would rather keep my discretionary income for my family, then see the cost of goods and gas go up higher due to the Health Care bill.

Today marks a historic day in our country. Today, the United States Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments on whether or not the Health care that President Obama signed into law is constitutional or not. The Affordable Care Act is designed to help those that do not have insurance currently, the ability to obtain insurance at a reasonable cost regardless of pre-existing conditions. Now, I am really paraphrasing this, because this law is really a lot more than this. There are a lot of things within this bill that are great. There is a WHOLE that I disagree with.

And for today’s purposes, I only want to address 1 portion of this bill pertaining to Individual Mandate, my suggestion for an alternative proposal to health care, and how I think that the Supreme Court might rule on this bill.

There is a lot of controversy over the topic of Individual Mandate. Curious to know what the Individual Mandate is? Here it is in it’s simplest form: By 2014, if you, a private citizen, does not have insurance, you will be forced to either purchase insurance or pay a penalty. So, what does this really mean? If you, an individual, does not have insurance by 2014, the United States government, if this bill passes, will require you to either purchase insurance from a private company or pay a penalty for not having insurance. I believe strongly that if you are an American citizen that you have certain rights that are guaranteed under the Constitution and no where does it say that you have to have insurance.

Now, do I think that American citizens should have insurance? Absolutely. However, this gets to be a tricky issue. Currently, in many states, there is a shortage of Doctors, Nurses and Nurse Practitioners. Why is this a concern? Well, let’s say that 1 million new patients come into the insurance system and start going to the Doctor, because for the first time in 10 years, they have insurance. What happens? A serious backlog at Doctor offices, which means, longer waits to be seen and treated. US News and World Report had a story that Three Quarters of Americans could not afford Health Care and that roughly 9 million Americans lost their health insurance over the last 3 years due to the economic conditions and job loss.

This only backs up my thought that by adding 9 million new patients, a new problem is created, an even greater shortage of Doctors. So, unlike most that disagree with legislation, I have an alternative solution and though, it is flawed, it does make sense:

Strike down portions of this bill, especially as it pertains to the Individual Mandate. Allow private citizens to choose what they would like to do. Give them the option to opt in or not, with no penalty. But give them the option, that if they have a pre-existing condition, that they are not denied coverage or charged an astronomical amount for coverage.
Let’s provide affordable options that are affordable for individuals and/or families, to ensure their medical care.
Let’s address the shortage of Doctors in this country. I have often heard that Doctors have huge student loans after they graduate. Let’s help them, as they treat patients. Create a medical health care system, that allows those that do not have insurance a free or subsided clinic that provides 24 hour care. But, just as residents do at hospitals, they work with patients under the supervision of a Doctor, let’s do the same thing. Give these residents that choose to work at these clinics a stipend salary and allow them to reduce their overall student loans.
By creating this new system where uninsured patients are treated by residents (oversee by an attending Doctor), this frees up our ERs in our America that are often filled with uninsured patients (hospitals can not turn away people that need medical treatment if they are unable to pay or not), thus allowing ERs to treat those with insurance that need immediate help.

Again, I am not saying that my idea is the greatest, but it solves several needs and addresses our shortage of Doctors. But by going to a system like this, patients are treated, new residents are able to learn, and ultimately, citizens are not told or penalized if they do not have insurance.

As for what I think the Supreme Court will do? My best guess is that I don’t have the first clue. If you look at this down party lines, there is a 5-4 vote for more Conservative Justices. My guess is that the bill maybe sent back to Congress and certain parts of this bill will either be re-written or removed completely, i.e. the Individual Mandate. My thinking is that the Justices’ will view the Government forcing citizens to purchase insurance from a private company will be viewed as unconstitutional. But at the end of the day, I do believe that people have a right to be treated and they should. I just do not believe that the Government can force an individual to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty for not doing so.

More to come on this very controversial topic, but take a look at this Consumer report to read a little bit more on the health care law that will be heard tomorrow.