PostHeaderIcon Responding to petition to defund Obamacare

There are many things wrong with a petition below.  Please read my comments as a proper response to this scare tactic petition created by Mike Lee (Senator UT) and Ted Cruz (Senator TX).

http://www.dontfundobamacare.com/   On October 1st, millions of Americans will be required to enroll in Obamacare and could lose access to their doctors and be forced to pay higher premiums and higher taxes. But there’s still time to stop it. Republicans and Democrats in Congress can stop Obamacare if they refuse to fund it.

Obamacare, or its proper name Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), is a law not insurance.  The Exchanges (insurance purchase marketplaces) set to open on the first of October 2013. Depending on the insurance policy people will chose they will have access to doctors. For already insured US citizens it is likely that they can purchase the same insurance they already have on the open marketplace; effectively retaining the same physician and hospital network.  The question about pricing is yet to be known, but for those who cannot afford it there are federal subsidies set in place to help pay for it. Only people who chose NOT to have insurance will have to pay a tax penalty. People with limited means will actually receive a subsidy, not a penalty.

The PPACA have many provisions already in place, so I can’t even image how defunding would affect it.  The petition does not tell you anything about the implication. It simply runs a headline and tries to scare people. Personally, I think this is silly season in politics.

Overall, this law helped children with pre-existing conditions getting insurance, improved the Medicare prescription plans coverage, allowed young adults to stay under their parents policy longer, eliminated lifetime limits under policies, etc. These are just a few benefits already in place that made healthcare a little better for US citizens.  It is not perfect, but an improvement from what we had before.

If republicans in congress want to do anything it should be working on making it better. Defunding would just mean for confusion and more fighting within the two branches of government. As you recall this law was reviewed by the Supreme Court and it was found constitutional.  As you also recall it was signed into law by congress.  We need to move forward, not backward.

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