I had just typed in the headline for my column when, ironically, the news came in that the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the Obama administration on a question regarding Obamacare. The situation revolved around the way the law was written and whether individual health insurance subsidies were available in all states or just those that had set up marketplace exchanges.
Don't want to get into the weeds on this subject but, the simple answer is that the Supreme Court ruled that Obamacare has survived another challenge to the extremely poorly written law. Even the most ardent supporters of the government takeover of healthcare have to admit that the law is vague, poorly constructed and has been even worse in its implementation.
Please do not point out the very few examples of successes with the law because it would not be hard to point to even more instances where people have had premiums skyrocket and had to give up their insurance because of the "Affordable" Care Act. The one statistic that I haven't heard lately is how many people are now uninsured since this legislation has been implemented.
The goal of the program was to insure everyone in the country. I would like to see a true and factual statistic that says just how well the administration is doing with regards to reaching that goal. I know that no one actually expected that number to be 100 percent but I would be very surprised if the percentage has significantly increased -- nor will ever.
This law was passed solely along party lines and only survived because of some very shaky legislative maneuvers. Remember then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously said that they needed to pass the bill to see what was in it. Of course, that may be one reason that she is now former House Speaker.
But, no matter how much some of us hate this government takeover, it is the law of the land -- or at least until the next national elections. Someone asked me if I thought that a Republican president would be able to repeal Obamacare. My response is that so many things have happened that has completely turned the heath insurance industry on its head that I believe Obamacare can be modified but not repealed. That's just my opinion.
All this being said, I admit that the health insurance system needed to be kicked in the pants. But, it wasn't all insurance companies fault as I have outlined in previous columns. All of us had our role in getting to a place that allowed a liberal administration with a liberal Congress to basically take over the country's healthcare system.
This week, I attended the 90th birthday celebration of Freeman Hospital. It was amazing to think of how far medicine has come in basically the span of one lifetime. And, advances are being made exponentially virtually every day. I have personally seen and benefited from these advances and can't imagine how things will change in the next 90 years.
I want everyone to be able to experience the care that I have been afforded. But, in my heart and mind, I know that when the government is involved, bureaucracy takes over and creativity can be stifled. Inattention to a problem that just kept getting bigger and bigger allowed "big brother" to step in and "solve" the problem. And, mark my words, we will be sorry that we let that happen.
If, in 18 months, a Republican president is sworn in and has a Republican Congress to work with, they need to be ready to face this situation head on with solutions and not sound bites. We have the greatest medical minds in the world working in our nation. We have the latest technology at their disposal. And, great things have happened in the last century that our forefathers could not even think possible.
It has now been revealed that economist Jonathan Gruber was, indeed, heavily involved with creating Obamacare. Remember that he was the one that said the passage of the law depended on the "stupidity of the American voter." I pray that our "all-knowing" government health czars don't mess up the greatest system in the world and I just hope that it isn't too late.
-- Kevin Wilson is a former state representative who lives in Goodman.
Community on 07/02/2015