On March 22, 2010, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement on the passage of healthcare reform. Although I am not a staunch Romney supporter, this statement sums up a lot of what I have been feeling about "healthcare" legislation for some time now.
"America has just witnessed an unconscionable abuse of power. President Obama has betrayed his oath to the nation — rather than bringing us together, ushering in a new kind of politics, and rising above raw partisanship, he has succumbed to the lowest denominator of incumbent power: justifying the means by extolling the ends. He promised better; we deserved better.
He calls his accomplishment “historic” — in this he is correct, although not for the reason he intends. Rather, it is an historic usurpation of the legislative process — he unleashed the nuclear option, enlisted not a single Republican vote in either chamber, bribed reluctant members of his own party, paid-off his union backers, scapegoated insurers, and justified his act with patently fraudulent accounting. What Barack Obama has ushered into the American political landscape is not good for our country; in the words of an ancient maxim, “what starts twisted, ends twisted.”
His health-care bill is unhealthy for America. It raises taxes, slashes the more private side of Medicare, installs price controls, and puts a new federal bureaucracy in charge of health care. It will create a new entitlement even as the ones we already have are bankrupt. For these reasons and more, the act should be repealed. That campaign begins today."
I, for one, am ashamed at how this bill was passed. Whether you agree with what is in it or not, Americans MUST agree on the fact that it was a tricky, backdoor triumph. I also wonder, how are private insurance companies supposed to bear the demands placed on them with this reform? Granted reform is needed, but tell me mathematically how insurance providers are supposed to generally accept everyone and at the same time lower premiums? It's impossible. They will go bankrupt and fail, leading us into a social system run by the government (who bankrupted SS, Medicaid, and Medicare). Why should I pay the same premiums as someone who has never worked, never put money into the system through taxes, doesn't take care of their body as well as I do, and abuses our health professionals and establishments? It's like car insurance. If you are a risk, a higher liability, then your premiums will be higher. It's simple and logical and fair. Furthermore, how is it Constitutional that Americans will be forced to accept insurance whether they want it or not? If this bill is the best that lawmakers could come up with, then why are we threatened with fines and/or imprisonment if we do not conform? And why are the lawmakers not subjecting themselves to their own rules? How are they able to write themselves out of a program that they say will benefit the rest of us? Why are we not looking into tort reform? Why aren't we improving the existing state programs like Medicaid? I have used those programs! They are in desperate need of regulation! Why are we not putting time limits on how long someone can stay on those programs? Why are we letting illegal immigrants use our resources? Why should I want a third party telling me who I can see for medical treatment and how often I can see them? Why should I leave the fate of my family's health care in the hands of lawmakers who do not know or care about me? Also, in these current economic times, how are small business owners, etc. supposed to pay for mandatory health insurance for their employees? There are heavy taxes on employers for doing so! If they are struggling as is, then how can we expect people who aren't financially ready to take on such a burden? It doesn't make sense with the current economic climate. Lastly, how am I to wield my moral philosophies to accept the fact that some of my husband's paycheck may ultimately pay for abortions that I don't agree with?
If it were up to me, I would restrict the liberal suing of health care professionals. I would drastically tighten the use of our social programs by placing time limits on usage of these resources (however allowing for extenuating circumstances as they arise). I would look to immigration control thereby disallowing use of our programs by people who are not legal citizens (and thus who do not pay back in taxes what they take from the system). (Note that I am not saying I am anti immigration. Because I am NOT. I am anti illegal immigration.) I would look into insurance practices and allow for regulation that WON'T bankrupt those private entities. Above all, I would allow the freedom of choice in the matter of personal health. I believe that with those few changes, we would have the money available in programs like Medicaid and TANF to effectively aid those people who truly do need help. I am not cold hearted. I WANT to help people who struggle but can't afford their health bills. (Those people of course being tax paying people who have done what they can to provide for their families.) And we CAN do that! Just not the way our current leaders have outlined earlier this week. It won't work. We will see dire ramifications if it is not overturned.
I am grateful for leaders, family and friends who have educated themselves on this matter. The bill that was passed was not health care. It is not fiscally sound. It is not economically wise. It's not logical. We can't stay healthy if the government ties the hands of those professionals who sacrificed time, talents, money, and hard work to help us. We can do better and I pray that we do.
