Trying to understand health care act opposition

Last week as we waited for the Supreme Court of the United States to hand down its ruling on the Affordable Care Act, a Reuters/Ipsos poll on the health care reform law was released. It showed, yet again, that while a majority of Americans oppose the law, most favor the individual elements. Does that make any sense?

It is instead a knee-jerk reaction based on ignorance and fear of change. But I have to ask, is our current system really workin’ for you?

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) like to rant about government run health care, death panels and denied care.

But after my husband and I went through physicals and an injury during the last 10 months, it seems we already have that with insurance.

Because ACA is not government-run health care; it’s a band-aid designed to make private insurance more affordable and to sustain it for a few more years. Nothing more.

In fact, when polled on individual elements of ACA, people liked the following provisions:

— Allowing children to stay on their parents’ policy until age 26;

— Banning insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions;

— Requiring corporations to cover employees.

And whether they know it or not, as a result of ACA many retirees on Medicare are already enjoying free preventative coverage and will receive rebate checks for their drug expenses.

What Americans claim they don’t like is the individual mandate – largely because they’ve heard a lot of bunk about how it impinges on their freedom.

Do you rail about your auto insurance, which most if not all states require to own a car? You may split hairs about auto coverage being a state’s right, but that’s all you’re doing – splitting hairs.

The reality is through our private health insurance system, your company may deny you coverage or limit your treatment options. The insurance company may limit which doctors you can see. The insurance company may delay treatment for underwriting. And yet that’s what we say we’re afraid of with government health care?

Instead of parroting media messaging manufactured by health insurance corporations via think tanks and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, think about how many forms, co-pays and deductibles it takes to go through a simple physical under the current system. Is it really workin’ for you?

And why is it that during the debate before ACA passed, we heard people crying “Keep your hands off my Medicare”? Medicare is a government-run universal single payer insurance plan, and most people on it like it.

Maybe instead of automatically repeating what we hear on television and radio, we should look at reality and start asking some questions. Like, “Why should health care be governed by the profit motive?”

If we want something better – like a health care system instead of a profit-driven payment system, we have to educate ourselves and speak up.

Too many of us sit at the kitchen table and complain without actually doing anything.

It’s not enough to vote. You have to know what you are voting for. And the six o’clock news is not going to give you the information you need.

Start with the Reuters/Ipsos poll results: www.reuters.com

Then visit the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Health Reform site to learn about ACA’s provisions: healthreform.kff.org

And finally, the government offers easy-to-use resources and information: www.healthcare.gov

Learn what the law actually does. Then use not only your vote, but your voice.