The political season was kicked off last night here in NH with the first Republican Presidential debate. Even though I did not watch the debate, I heard clips from each of the candidates talking about how they would seek to repeal healthcare reform or as they refer to it: “OBAMA CARE.” Since the 2010 congressional mid-term elections, we have heard from opponents of healthcare reform that they would repeal it. Again last night we heard the mantra of REPEAL. The problem I have is that we never hear what they would replace it with! The opponents tell us to let the free market take care of it with enough competition that will drive down costs. Really? Isn’t that the system we have now? Are your health costs going down? It seems as if every January I lose more of my take home pay to my contribution for my healthcare costs.
Healthcare reform offers some improvements for ordinary everyday people. Insurance companies can no longer discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions; parents are now allowed to keep their adult children on their insurance until the age of 26. Preventive care is now part of the mix. If healthcare reform is repealed, what happens to all of these improvements? Do they just go away because things go back to the way they are now?
I don’t pretend to know everything and anything about the legislation that was passed; my thoughts are: let’s work in a bipartisan way to fix the parts and pieces that need fixing. Health care is a right, not a privilege.
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