Screwing the People

Rememer when then candidate Obama in 2008 promised that the public option was a must in any healthcare reform legistlation. It was a right of the people to be guarranteed a right to good affordable health insurance and be assured of good healthcare with rights and protections against rejection or denial of coverage or claims or cancellation of coverage.

It seems the public option got lost in his fight to get healthcare reform. It was one of the first, and quickest, casualities of the negotiation with the right wing and tea party members of Congress. And it was Obama who quickly forgot it in the name of getting something. In short he screwed the people who most need health insurance or can't afford it.

Then he negotiated the rights of states for opt out of provisions, including the right to offer insurance pools to low income folks and high risk folks. And already a number of states, under Republican Governorships, have said they won't even consider it let alone even allow them to exist in their states. Again, he screwed the people who most need it or could least afford it.

And now he's decided to let states opt out of the individual mandate without waiting for it to be tested through the courts. There are several cases which will be heard before several different federal appeals courts, and probably eventually the Supreme Court. But he's decided to screw the people and agree with the states to opt out before that.

He's making the court cases moot and giving in to the Republicans who have said it's illegal. While not agreeing with them, he's agreeing to their goal. He's screwing the people again. Those who most need it or can least afford it.

This healthcare reform will slowly be gutted, unfunded or repealled by the time it gets fully implemented in 2013-14. And by then, a significant number of people in this country will be uninsured or underinsured with no options except at public expense, giving arguments to the Republicans the law doesn't work and only adds to our healthcare costs.

In short, President Obama is screwing himself now beside the people. He is slowly returning health insurance back to where we started with only a few changes, which the insurance companies will find ways to avoid.They did they in the negotiation by using the Republicans, and some Democrats, to write provisions and amendments which favored them or didn't help you.

Instead of rejecting you and your family, they'll simply not offer anything. Instead of denying your claim, they'll simply put so many administrative and appeal proceedures in the way, you'll give up. Instead of cancelling your coverage, they'll simply change the plan with reduced coverage and then raise the premiums where you can't afford it.

They will in short, screw the people pushing those most needing care onto the public rolls and sector, forcing Medicare or Medicaid to pick up the cost. But as states reduce their Medicaid coverage and rolls, to save money, it will simply put people out on the proverbial-medical street. And as the Republicans, with Obama's help, change Medicates, it will produce the same result.

In the end, nothing will change and in 2016 will be talking the same issue that our healthcare system and health insurance programs are broken. Health insurance won't be better or affordable. Healthcare will still be the highest in the world and uncontrollable. And we'll have the same percentage then as now of uninsured people.

We simply went in a circle, and while the insurance companies got richer, we, the people, got poorer and less. We got screwed all the way around. No thanks to President Obama and his failed promises.