Deborah Mowrey THANK YOU for your piece in the Kingwood Observer! I have been waiting for the vocal awakening of those with the real numbers that detail the material effect the healthcare reform bill will have on people not only in our district but throughout the country versus a lobotomized delivery of inhumane and blatantly disingenuous talking points originated from those who would lose in a system slowly attempting efficiency.
The bill is not even close to the single payer system that can be proven mathematically more efficient than the current private insurance based system that consumes over 30% of the premiums on inefficient expenses, overpaid executives, and share holder dividends instead of towards healthcare. What it provides is a canvas that can be modified now that universal healthcare is codified in law.
The reality is this bill is mostly a Republican bill that is now opposed by those who proposed its major tenants. The individual mandate was proposed early on by Sen McCain, Tommy Thompson, & Mitt Romney. The disingenuous “death panels” which really is partially responsible counsel for end of life care was supported in 2008 by Sarah Palin, Sen Grassley, and many others since the Bush administration. This pattern of disingenuous objections repeats itself over and over. Unfortunately we have a press whose research departments seem devoid of research and a significant part of the population that is willing to accept FoxNews, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, & Sean Hannity as legitimate sources of information irrespective of their daily barrage of misinformation.
What the GOP leaders and cohorts really dislike about the bill is its funding by partially raising taxes on unearned income (specifically capital gains) for those making over $200,000. While the average American worker’s income is taxed at up to 35%+ excluding Medicare taxes, the ultra rich tops out at 15% and generally pay no Medicare taxes on said income at all.
The Healthcare Reform bill is supported by AARP, Consumer Reports, and many other reputable nonprofit organizations. The healthcare reform bill is not near perfect but better than anything we currently have. Moreover it brings honesty to a system that rewards those who can afford insurance but chooses not to have it becoming a future burden on society. It also brings humanity to our healthcare system in our country that avidly proclaims its morality.