Obamacare is not enough, plain and simple. Like Senator Bernie Sanders says, I want Medicare for all.
The proof that Obama isn't a socialist like myself and Senator Sanders is that he chose a Heritage Foundation/
Romneycare type of plan that still lets insurance companies gouge people and the government for a human
right, albeit a smaller amount than before.
Since we lost the fight for the public option, for now this is still a step in the right direction. It's not perfect,
but it's a hell of a lot better than what we had. There is many things I don't like about Obamacare,
especially the medicare/medicaid expansion being optional, but if it's this or the same prior to Obama
I'll take this.
I should also point out to anyone that may not know I don't like Obama and wouldn't have voted for him
since he's too much of centrist for my liking.
Some of what Obamacare does:
- Ends Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions for Children
- Keeps Young Adults Covered On Parents Plan Until Age 26
- Ends Arbitrary Withdrawals of Insurance Coverage
- Guarantees Your Right to Appeal
- Ends Lifetime Limits on Coverage
- Covers Preventive Care at No Cost
- Removes Insurance Company Barriers to Emergency Services
- Prescription discounts for seniors
- Linking Payment to Quality Outcomes
- Prohibiting Discrimination Due to Pre-Existing Conditions or Gender
Now, I know that's
a lot of tyranny packed so neatly in to a a few points so I'll give everyone a
moment to digest it and move on to my experience of living in Canada.
When I lived in Canada (Ontario to be exact) each province looked after the healthcare system.
Ontario has what is called OHIP which covers doctor visits, emergency room visits, short and
long term care treatment in hospital, referrals to specialists, and very limited mental health
and optometry. It doesn't cover dental, medication, glasses, braces, and many medical devices.
Wait time at the hospital for me has been anywhere from 0 mins to 2 hours at the most and I have
been in the hospital dozens of times (I slipped on ice and fractured a foot, have pre-existing
conditions, etc) and most of the time the wait wasn't too agonizing. Waiting to see a specialist is
a long and trying matter. Whether it's and Otolaryngologist, Psychiatrist, Dermatologist, Urologist,
etc, it does take normally between 6 weeks and 8 months. If it is a life or death situation, then
it does happen very quickly.
As for regular doctor visits, I lived downtown Toronto and could see my doctor often with 12 hours
notice. The most I had to wait was a week when he was on vacation and it wasn't an emergency.
Canada's healthcare system isn't perfect, but it does do a lot. The failings are medication, medical
devices, specialists and having to pay in some provinces to take an ambulance if you don't have
insurance, even though the ambulances are all run by the city/region using public funds.
Long story short: Obamacare is here to stay, it's a LAW not a bill, the Supreme Court says it's
constitutional, and no, contrary to Glenn Beck, Fox, Michele Bachmann, and all this isn't the
4th Reich, the world is not ending, there are no "death panels", FEMA "prison camps" for those
who don't signup, and no, the UN isn't going to know the size of your dick...
