Supporters have praised President Obama’s health care reform bill as a historic landmark in our nation’s history — and so it is, but not for the reasons that many of them claim.
The concept itself is not the problem. In fact, it is even commendable. Providing affordable health care to an entire nation is a noble goal, and that is basically what the bill is trying to achieve. But before we jump onto the bandwagon of reform, perhaps we should take a closer look at how the bill will affect the nation.
As we are well aware, the United States is currently in an economic slump coupled with trillions of dollars of national debt. Now in this situation, why would the government want to raise taxes and require states to increase the funding of health care? Yet according to the Washington Times, the recently passed bill will “raise taxes over the next 10 years by more than a half-trillion dollars.” Many of these tax dollars will come from new Medicare levies, and many of them from our own pockets.
And it is not just a question of funding, but also of simple constitutionality. The bill, when fully implemented, will require all individuals to purchase health care or risk being fined by the government. Several states have vowed to actually sue the federal government over this point, claiming that it infringes on the constitutional rights of citizens. How can the government expect to force us to pay for health care that they themselves provide?
Another alarming point about the bill is that there is no public option, meaning that our choices for health care are limited to private insurers (if your family can afford it) or the government option, which is a rationed plan with benefits and treatments chosen by a government committee. The problem with that option is, you have no say in the benefits that are given (or withheld), and there is no appeals process if you disagree. In addition to this, according to the bill itself, no company can sue the government for price-fixing, and no “judicial review” is permitted against the government.
The health care reform bill will hopefully provide affordable insurance to all citizens, along with raising taxes, cutting Medicare, increasing national debt, requiring states to increase funding and requiring individuals to purchase health care. Now might be a good time to ask ourselves, is a lower health care rate worth our personal freedom? As Benjamin Franklin said, “People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.”
Ashlie Bowman is a freshman majoring in journalism.
