Obama Care-Less?

The official term for “Obama Care” is the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” or “The Affordable Care Act.”  Early on, Obama’s opponents called it Obama Care and the name stuck.  It was meant to be demeaning, to minimize its value.

As to its deployment, no one is happy about its initial startup.  It’s been a mess.  What’s worse is that many who stand to pay more, and/or will lose their present individual health care plans in the face of Obama Care’s implementation, are angry and upset about it.

There are actually two issues with regard to Obama Care.  The first is one of substance and intent.  Obama Care was/is meant to make health care more affordable and obtainable to the many who, under our present insurance health care system, are otherwise unable to obtain adequate health care coverage (as for example because of prohibitive pre-existing conditions).  And, it intended to do this by spreading the cost around more equitably.   It’s a simple idea.  However, introducing structural and procedural changes to an already existing complex health care system is far from simple and inevitably cumbersome.

Opponents obviously reject the substance and intent of Obama Care.  Apparently they like the present health care system as it is, for their only aim seems to be that of destroying Obama Care without offering any constructive alternative in its place.

The second issue is its implementation and application, getting Obama Care up and running.  As we all know, getting it going has been a disaster.  So much so, that even those who supported the idea of Obama Care in principle are ready to throw in the towel and change it at a substance level.  Obama Care is definitely in trouble.

But who cares?  Or, why should we care?

Well, for decades now, we Americans have seen the cost of health care rise and rise and rise, far outpacing any normal cost of living and/or inflationary increases in our economy over the same period of time.  More and more average Americans were seeing their health care benefits dwindle and/or its cost rise beyond affordability.  Many more were becoming caught in the net of insurance carrier’s restrictions and prohibitions.

Thus, it wasn’t too long ago that we Americans (Democrats as well as Republicans) sent a message to Washington: “Our health care system is broken and we want it fixed!”  We wanted something better, something more accessible, and something more equitable in terms of coverage and availability and service.  Have we lost sight of this need and desire of ours?

Obama Care came along because Obama heard and listened, and tried to do what was right and best for all Americans respecting our national health care system—considering political, economic, and social realities.  The question is, do we still care?  What do we really want?

Do you agree or disagree with the following:

We want health care coverage and health care services to be obtainable and affordable for all Americans, not just for a privileged well to do few.

We want the cost of health care coverage and its services to be fairly distributed and justly administered and to stay well within normal annual cost of living increases.

We want freedom and flexibility—to choose our own doctors.  And we want the power to determine health care needs to stay in the hands of medical doctors, rather than transferred over to health insurance company bureaucrats.

We want our health care system to be straightforward, just and fair, convenient and easy to use, and beneficial for all.

Is this not what we want, what we care about?

If Obama Care is not a step in the right direction, what is, what will be, and how and when will we take the necessary steps to get where we want to be, in terms of quality health care provision for all Americans?