In honor of today being the last day of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Acts health insurance marketplace, I thought to share my opinion (not that anyone asked). I think that its unfair (yes, even though I work as a public servant and am someone who studies public health) to financially penalize people for not enrolling in healthcare. Many people who dont have insurance probably dont, not because they dont care about their health, but because they dont have the money to pay for healthcare. Additionally, they may not value healthcare as much as they value eating, having a place to live, etc. To these people, healthcare is a luxury. Therefore, making it mandatory that they pay for healthcare, and penalizing them if they do not, doesnt address their problem of not having enough money to live. It actually hurts them more. Meanwhile, the government is getting paid either way. Whether you feel that the intent of Obamacare is good or bad, the result will be more debt accumulated by those who cant afford to pay off their existing debt. Will it guarantee more healthy people? Only time will tell. Whats easy to see now is that its an underhanded means to an end. To me, a better gesture wouldve been to reward those who do signup rather than penalize those who do not. That way, not only are you providing a service to us all (a fundamental need), but youre providing an incentive to attract those who may not normally apply for healthcare. If the government really wanted to help its citizens with the problem, they would offer money- a stimulus or discounted services, but that would actually cost them money, and limit war funds. #HumanRights #SocialAction #SocialJustice #ObamaCare #HealthCare
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 19:14:34 +0000
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