There are a myriad of different opinions about the Health Care Reform Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. I think the most important fact is that it was passed and is a good start to really reviewing and reforming health care in this country. While there has been very little discussion about the quality of and methods of delivery for health care, which needs to be done before we can honestly say we have reformed the health care system, providing coverage for many who have been under or uninsured is a wonderful first step.
There are many positive components of this Law, however I am sorry the process was mired down by such negative politics. It didn’t need to and it shouldn’t have. We have always had a competitive two-party system, however the level to which the interaction between the politicians in both parties has fallen is disturbing and embarrassing. It should be unacceptable to all of us, regardless of our beliefs, and we should make our politicians aware that we won’t stand for it. It is one thing to stand up for your convictions and quite another to denigrate someone else’s beliefs by personalizing your criticism. What kind of example are we setting for our children and young people?
The racist, bigoted and uninformed name-calling is something I never thought we would see in our nation’s Capital. We have a right to our personal beliefs and the right to free speech, those are basic Freedoms provided to each of us in the Constitution. We also have a responsibility to allow others to have the right to their convictions. And does free speech mean that we must act like poorly behaved children and call each other names in public? No, it means we have the right to debate these issues, but can’t we do so on a mature and informed manner? I love to debate opposing views, when the conversation remains on the issue and the debate does not include personal insults and name-calling, which many of our national leaders seem to have fallen to. Neither political party is blameless; just allowing this to take place puts responsibility on all of Congress and all of us.
I believe that President Obama had the best intentions when he started this process but I wish he had used a different method. For what it’s worth, this is how I think the process could have been improved.
Both Houses of Congress are made up of politicians from various backgrounds; social, geographic, vocational, educational, religious, etc. I think it is asking too much to expect this group to come together and develop legislation of such sweeping proportion from scratch. It isn’t surprising that special interest groups, such as insurance and pharmaceutical companies, played such a large role, after all they are the knowledgeable ones about the issues being considered.
Wouldn’t it have been better to start by appointing a bi-partisan blue ribbon Commission, chaired by two senior members of Congress, one from each party, and comprised of medical professionals, corporate representatives, including but not limited to pharmaceutical and insurance companies, small business owners, hospital administrators, and patient advocates, to name a few. This Commission, similar to the one appointed after September 11, could have been given a general statement of the current state of health coverage by private and public entities, and charged with making recommendations for reform with the final goal being to cover as many people as possible, with a primary focus on insuring all children.
Denise,
Well said! And I agree 100% with your opinions, thanks for such an eloquent post.
Millie