The Healthcare Dilemma

I just spent $128 for five medications (yes, I require a boat-load of meds to function--and that wasn't even all of it), and that is with insurance! I work for a clinic that serves indigent patients, and they complain about having to pay $4 for generics and $10 for brands--you cannot beat that! Even if someone were to get 10 brand-name prescriptions, it still would not add up to what I have to pay every month for my prescriptions. It's amazing how ungrateful people are...

I understand that I am well-off compared to my patients, but $4 for all generics that we provide (some of which aren't even on Walmart's $4 list) and $10 for brands that normally would cost hundreds of dollars at any other pharmacy is a like highway robbery. The price of healthcare in this country is absolutely outrageous! That is way President Obama is trying to reform the country's healthcare system.

According to whitehouse.gov, the Affordable Care Act (coined "Obamacare" by the haters, aka the GOP) "will reduce the deficit by $210 billion in this decade and by more than $1 trillion over the following 10 years. And a family of four would save as much as $2,300 on their premiums in 2014 compared to what they would have paid without reform." This was found to be true by the Congressional Budget Office.

Some people think that The Affordable Care Act is about socialized medicine that the government will be running when, in fact, this legislation "puts people, not health insurance companies or government, in charge of health care. The new law strengthens the existing employer-based health insurance market while making the market fair for consumers by implementing landmark consumer protections. Families and individuals that don't have access to affordable coverage can receive tax credits to help them purchase coverage in the private health insurance market. There is no government-sponsored, public, or 'single payer' plan in the law" (yes, I am directly quoting from the website because I am being lazy--they say it better than I ever could anyway...).

There are a lot more myths out there about this new law, but I just wanted to cover the main ones. I am excited for this reform because, finally, every American will have access to the quality healthcare that everyone is entitled to without having to pay out the butt or make tough decisions like eating dinner or buying must-needed blood pressure medication. Quit drinking the hateraid, and research the facts for yourselves...