Healthcare, The Sky is not Falling

We do need healthcare reform, but it should be looked into at a slower pace. This is a start to what could be good for all of America. There is no crisis, no immediate danger of the health care system collapsing.

We cannot pass increased costs on to the business owners and corporations. Government cannot tell citizens they must carry health care insurance or they will be penalized. America’s 47 million uninsured people would be required to purchase a health policy or face financial penalties. To ask citizens to make another choice in what bill to pay at the end of the month would be creating an undo hardship on them.

All Americans deserve access to affordable health care, but to increase taxes during an economic recession, especially on small businesses, is not the right way to accomplish that goal. To mandate that individuals face penalties during hard times is a bitter pill to swallow.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 H.R. 1 will increase the number of those dependent on the Federal Government for health care by about 8.2 million. By creating a panic, insisting that it must be done now or else, is throwing good money after bad, making a bad situation worse.

Reforming Medicare and Medicaid would be a good start. In 2007, 32.7 billion dollars was spent on improper Medicaid payments. Instead of reforming the program, there is a formula that actually rewards states for driving up their health care costs. Senior citizens would be asked to pay higher premiums for Medicare drug coverage.

Government is going to spend $634 billion on health care, half of that will be paid by new taxes. Experts predict the costs would be closer to $1 trillion dollars.

Republicans are not blocking the healthcare plan. If all the GOP Congressman voted against it, there are enough Democrats to vote in the affirmative to push this bill through.

I believe by pushing this plan through before it is ready, will lengthen the recession.

If the recession is to improve as some are predicting by the middle of 2010, there is plenty of time to put together a health plan without being hasty. To ratify a rushed healthcare plan before all aspects and resulting consequences are looked at, will certainly cost us much more than we bargained for.

This is one plan that must be read from cover to cover before it is voted on. A haphazard decision would be catastrophic.