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Senator George McGovern
told Senator Sherrod Brown a story about a
time, in 1980, that he was standing in line at a Sioux Falls supermarket. “…he saw two women standing in front of him
paying for their groceries with food stamps, the program no one in Washington
had done more to expand then McGovern.
Not having noticed that their senior senator was standing nearby, they
were discussing the upcoming Senate race between McGovern and his Republican
challenger, James Abnor. With all of the
major problems in our economy, one woman said as she handed the clerk the food
stamps, ‘I can’t vote for McGovern. He’s
for too many of those giveaway programs!” (From Desk 88
by Senator Sherrod Brown)
Today is the new
normal. The past is just the past. The women in line were oblivious to the
irony. They weren’t the recipients of
government largesse or even a helping hand.
Apparently they no longer remembered struggling to feed their
families. Their food stamps were THEIR
food stamps, as normal for them as their homes or their family pets. But please don’t spend my money on someone
else. That would be a giveaway.
And that brings us to the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Today is the new normal. The past is just the past. Cancer survivors come into my office during
the annual open enrollment period (November 1st – December 15th)
to purchase or change health insurance policies without the fear that their
preexisting conditions will inhibit the transaction. Those clients come from across the political
spectrum, from the far right to the equally far left. What they share, aside from preexisting
conditions that would have made the purchase of insurance coverage nearly impossible
in 2009, is little understanding or appreciation of how Obamacare has opened
the door for them. Today is the new
normal.
The expansion of Medicaid under
the PPACA is also part of the new normal.
Some of my most virulent anti-Obama / anti-Obamacare clients have taken
advantage of this free health care. And
thank G-d for it. Bringing Medicaid to
the working poor, people making up to 138% of the federal poverty level, opens
the door for routine care and necessary medication to individuals and families
who might not have been able to afford such care. And, importantly, that door is the front
door. Obamacare removed the stigma
attached to Medicare.
In January 2020, Americans
expect to have their preexisting conditions covered. They expect their children to be covered
until they are 26 years old by a parent’s policy. And if their 27 year old can’t get a job,
possibly Medicaid. American women expect
maternity to be covered and men concern themselves with how to combat prostate
cancer not whether or not their surgeries or radiation will be paid.
The American public has
been lulled into complacency. The
benefits of Obamacare have been disconnected from the law. It is as if Obamacare could be ruled
unconstitutional and eliminated, but we get to keep all of the good stuff. Mitch McConnell
was recently asked about his support of the Texas
lawsuit to undo the PPACA’s protection for preexisting conditions. He said, “There’s
nobody in the Senate that I’m familiar with who’s not in favor of coverage for
preexisting conditions”.
A reader recently complained
that this blog was too political.
Really? Those were politicians
who negotiated, argued, and crafted the compromises ten years ago that created
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
There have been politicians
trying to destroy the law for the last ten years while other politicians have
fought hard to save it. It is all about
politics and it is my job to chronicle the fight. What it is not about is YOUR health. The debate is about how medical providers are
compensated. Who pays and how much? What was once about hospitals and doctors now
encompasses hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, medical testing
equipment, therapists, and countless others attached to the business of
health. Every one of them has an army of
lobbyists in Washington and every state capitol. Hell yes this is political.
The new normal in 2020 isn’t
perfect. Our premiums are too high. Prescription drug pricing is out of
control. There is plenty of room for
improvement. But denying the safety net
of Obamacare is a lot like complaining about government giveaways while paying
for one’s groceries with food stamps.
Dave
Picture – All Was Perfect In The Turtles’ World –
David L Cunix
Bonus – Happy Together
