Health Care Reform Support Group

I don't have all the information, but I'm not sure this is little more than a band-aid. Eliminating denial for pre-existing conditions and lifetime maximums was good, but I have yet to hear anything about premium costs. If you can't afford coverage, this will do you no good. And a mandate will only cause people to pay the fine, which will be cheaper than insurance.

Am I wrong? I haven't heard ALL the news.

This is a good initial step. I'm glad that they are outlawing discrimination against pre-existing conditions and that they can't cancel insurance retroactively, among other things. There will be insurance pools created for high-risk individuals and Medicare and Medicaid will be expanded. Employers (with over 50 people) will be fined for not insuring people. Yes, there is a fine for not having health insurance if you are 133% above the poverty line or more. I don't agree with that provision.

I hope that when this comes into effect, that there won't be long waiting lines or a lottery who about who gets the care. There are too many questions surrounding this issue, and I would be cautious about being optimistic.

I am all for everyone getting good quality health care, that is important because I have seen so many go without in my work. But it has to work for the people, We can't be used for the politica to put forth their own agendas.

I don't think that people are against everyone getting health care, it is all the hidden agendas behind it, and what are the implications for the future for the country when our leaders connive, bribe, lie to get what they want? It is a frightening time.

I wish you the best with your recovery from your illnesses. I wish you could have the quality health care long before this.

Make something "free" and the demand is infinite. It's a basic law of economics. I'm hungry....Obama, get me a sandwich.

Mr. President, I am hungry, too. But I want a steak dinner not a sandwich.

Though some parts of this bill (the doing away with pre-existing conditions for one) are good, the bill was too rushed and not thoroughly read to be of any good. Too much dark areas. If you go to the doctor's office, for instance, how crowded do you think it will be and do you have to wait hours to see him for 5 minutes? In the ER, the wait will be days, not hours. And how much will all this cost you if you want to be insured? Who pays? Me. Gipper? You? And how is spending $980 billion over ten years going to decrease the deficit by $1 trillion over that same ten years?

Susie JD, have you read this bill. If not read the below link, if you can:

http://hcr.propublica.org/document/...

This is a side-by-side comparison of the bill that was passed in December and the bill that is now law.

Some of your questions cannot be answered but there is one that has an obvious answer - Who pays? Since we are running ruinous deficits with no end in sight, the payer will be future generations. Politicians are fond of saying that we're the wealthiest nation of earth. That's not true, we're the most indebted nation on earth and it's just gotten much, much worse.

Folks,

I blieve I could have written a better health care reform bill.

1. Insure all children w/o insurance.
2. Insure the poor who do not have insurance.
3. Insure those who work and can pay for it, because their employer doesn't provide it.
4. Eliminate pre-existing conditions.
5. Let individuals cross state lines to find the best insurance at the best price.
6. If you lose your job, let them and their family have free insurance until you are employed again.
7. Do not take $500 billion our of Medicare to pay for this program.
8. Reform tort where there are caps on how much a doctor can be sued.
9. Put the program under a separate entity like the Post Office. Not the gov't.
10. Do not force people to have insurance. Did you know at one time we where not forced to pay taxes? Both are unconstitutional.
6. Do not force people to pay for the gov't insurance.

tpedwards1,

I like #9.

But...what would you suggest for those of us in the hole between the cracks? Self-employed, but CAN'T pay for insurance, at least not as expensive as it has been! Our income isn't low enough to qualify for ANYTHING, but debt is astronomical due to almost losing the business to housing crash. We have re-structured and sold a lot of things, but we had to drop our $750 per month policy for two people with $10,000 deductible EACH...because there's just nothing left. We're not young.

Maybe Obama could have given some kind of tax breaks to small business owners and those who are self employed. Maybe even force insurance companies to provide insurance are a discount price to self employed people.

#7, if you move to Connecticut and run for the Senate or even the House from District 4, I would vote for you. I like your idea of Health Care Reform.

If you eliminate pre-existing conditions then it's no longer insurance. Do you run out to buy insurance after your house catches fire? Of course not. What you're advocating is welfare. If we can just get the terminology right then we might be able to have a real debate.