Breaking news: the latest Republican health care bill in the US Senate is now 2 votes short of passing.
And so goes on the health care political football. When the Democrats controlled the Congress and White House, they forced through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Flawed in places and perhaps not stable over time, it let the health care genie out of the bottle.
For the first time, many working Americans could afford the benefits of health insurance. The could afford the medicine they need to treat their chronic conditions. They could feel assured that they were not one bad diagnosis from loosing their home and the job and falling into poverty.
Cancer, heart attacks, diabetes, stroke: who knows when they may befall someone. And without health insurance, any of these could take a productive, working American from a role of being a self-supporting, productive, tax-paying citizen of this land and make them a ward of the state, and burden to taxpayers.
But now the Republicans in Congress and President Trump want to repeal the ACA and replace it with some variation of the various plans that have seen the light of day, each of which would result in so many Americans loosing health insurance. It seems their idea of freedom is the choice of not getting insurance and either (if you're healthy) spinning the wheel of chance that you stay healthy, or if not so lucky, perhaps unable to afford care, medicine or necessary procedures.
In this case, I don't know why they don't understand that a healthy working American is a productive and tax-paying member of society, something they value. And for those in America who have to work for a living - which is the vast majority of those who voted for President Trump and those who voted for Hilary Clinton - affordable health insurance helps keep them productive and tax-paying. Isn't that what Republicans value?
All I can figure is that got themselves twisted like a pretzel: they couldn't participate in creating the ACA, so they must kill it! They are convinced that's why they were elected: to repeal the ACA!
But that's no longer in touch with their constituents. Affordable health care ensures working Americans can remain productive, self-supporting and tax-paying even if bad health should befall them.
The people want affordable health care! So, reform the ACA, make it better and sustainable, but don't deprive working Americans of the opportunity to afford health insurance.
