Health Care in America

I am not crazy about the Affordable Care Act, otherwise referred to as Obamacare.   It’s not because it is a Democrat or Obama idea.   I just think it is too complicated and not well thought out.  I do not believe any time was spent thinking about the unintended consequences of a new government program this large.   Nobody seems to know what the long-term impact is going to be to our economy.

But here is the thing, I didn’t like the health care system before Obamacare and truly believe something needed to be done.   I am not a big government liberal but you can’t deny the fact that the federal and state governments are already deeply entrenched in healthcare in our country via Medicare, Medicaid and other various government programs.   The government has to have a seat at the health care debate table.  

I am really upset with all the time, energy and money that has been spent trying to repeal Obamacare.   Repealing Obamacare simply assumes that we were better off before it was made law.  I don’t think so and I believe the facts support my position.  Reform was necessary.  Let’s quit arguing and work together on a solution.

Here are just a couple of facts that you might find interesting as a Citizen:

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United States life expectancy of 78.4 years at birth, up from 75.2 years in 1990, ranks 50^th among 221 nations, and 27^th out of the 34 industrialized OECD countries, down from 20^th in 1990.  

Of the 17 high-income countries studied by the National Institutes of Health in 2013, the United States had the highest or near-highest prevalence of infant mortality, heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancies, injuries, homicides and disability.