Honestly, I'm not keeping the very closest of tabs on the ObamaCare thing. I worry about it and am powerfully conscious of it "in the background", but I just can't bring myself to read or otherwise follow the coverage very intently-- precisely because it is so worrying, and because I feel that increasing my misery over it won't help the cause of slowing it down.
However, one thing I have heard about it (more than once) is especially troubling:
He keeps saying that there's no need for us to worry. If we're satisfied with our current health care/insurance situation-- as the majority of Americans are-- then we need not worry that the rug will be snatched out from under us. The great leader has deemed it fit to allow us to keep our non-government-controlled insurance. (Excuse me while I bow at his feet and kiss his dear, sweet toes for this benevolence!)
Now, for just a moment, disregard the prominent suggestions that private insurance companies will eventually find it impossible to compete with the (unfairly advantaged) government system. Set those concerns aside. Assume that your current insurance plan remains intact.
Apparently, there's a neat little clause in the bill indicating that we are only allowed to keep our private insurance in its current state. Should you wish to change your private plan-- increase or decrease coverage, premium, and/or copay-- add new people to or drop people from your plan-- or heaven forbid, switch to a different private provider or plan (like you often have to do if you switch employers), you might be fresh out of luck. "Nope. Sorry 'bout that. Guess you'll just have to tough it out with your old plan... or just give in and enroll in the People's Health Care Plan. C'mon. You know you're gonna have to do it sooner or later."
That's right. This could mean that you'd be locked into your current plan-- locked out of any other private plan. How's that for the "choice" and "options" Obama has promised?
What would this mean if you had a child after the public plan went into effect? Would we be unable to add our own babies to our private insurance plans? Excuse me, Mr. President, but this seems like an essentially unAmerican "option".
Argh!!
Don't people see the potentiality for disaster in this plan? If nationalized health care is so great, why are people from so many countries with it warning us to steer clear? When has giving the government more power led to anything good?
This may all sound like a crazy conspiracy theory, but at this point it's hard to know what to believe and who to trust, but I know I don't trust most of the people presently in power.
There are many unanswered-- or at least not satisfactorily answered-- questions surrounding this bill. For instance, how will the we pay for it? (The claim that our taxes won't go up? I'm not buying it.) However, my first and last question is this: What's the hurry? The American people are not clamoring for this drastic "change"-- and even if we were, it is unwise to proceed so hastily. For goodness sake, exercise a little caution! How 'bout we think things through, first? Trust me, you do not have a public mandate-- especially not on this issue.
What is the hurry?
(It certainly seems like the hurry is "Hurry up and let's shove this thing through before people have a chance to realize that maybe it's not such a great idea"...)
