This is just the opposite of the truth. We've been paying all along for the medical bills of people who show up in hospital emergency rooms without money, without insurance, and without any means to pay. Hospitals pass on the expense by over-billing the insurance companies of people who do have insurance. Hospitals also bill the government, and the cost is passed on to us through our taxes. Those of us who have insurance have been paying for those who do not have insurance for a hundred years, or more. That's why our insurance premiums have gotten so high. That's what we should have been complaining about!
Under the new law, everyone except the very poorest people will have to contribute something towards their medical bills. Even if their health insurance is at a discount, because they have a low income, they will still have to pay something towards their insurance premiums. If they don't, they will pay a tax penalty, which will be used to offset the expenses of the government when it has to pay the medical bills of the uninsured. This is much fairer than having approximately 20% of our population completely uninsured, which is the situation now, with the rest of us picking up the tab. The Federal General Accounting Office has said that the federal goverment will save billions in healthcare costs over the next few decades. This can only be a good thing for the rest of us.
The new plan will also increase the number and size of neighborhood clinics, so that fewer people will demand expensive care in hospital emergency rooms. Since everyone will receive preventive care through the insurance they are buying, there will be fewer people who do not seek treatment until they need the most expensive care. Many cases of colon cancer, for example, might be prevented.
Pregnant women will get prenatal care, which means that fewer babies will be born prematurely, or with unnecessary medical issues. In the long run, this could mean that the cost of Special Education programs will be cut; fewer young people will go on disability right out of high school, as they do now. (I work in a high school; many of our Special Education students go straight from high school onto disability. The cost of their care is tremendous. Anything we can do to reduce the number of young people on disability will be better for our children and our society.)
It's about time that we all start to chip in towards the cost of healthcare, and take responsibility for our own health. This is exactly what the new healthcare bill is designed to do. The only reason more people do not understand this is because of the lies they have been told by politicians who would rather have a political win than do what is best for our citizens and our country. These lies are designed to create fear in the minds of hard-working people, and this is outrageous!
If you want to read the bill for yourself, so that no one gives you more misinformation, including me, you can read it at: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/index.html
You are reading from the blog: http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com
Photo courtesy of www.morguefile.com
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