We all have our issues. No, not those type of issues, though, yes, we all have those too. I’m talking about the issues where a difference of opinion gets under our skin and makes us want to scream. One such issue for me comes in the form of universal healthcare, or the fight for healthcare reform in the US. I have a chronic illness. I’ve been sick since I was 10 and had a surgery and hospitalizations. My prescriptions have in the past cost over $800 dollars a month, fortunately I only paid $20 because I have insurance. If I ever lose my coverage, well, let’s just say it would be very bad. As an adult and I’m still not certain that I will even get covered under the Obama plan, even after 2014, when supposedly adults with chronic illness will join those under 18 in being protected from loss of coverage and huge out of pocket expenses due to pre-existing conditions. I know things can be different. I spent 2 years studying in the UK. I was hospitalized 3 times and had major surgery while there. You know what it cost me? £7 a prescription. That’s it. No bills for the ambulances which transported me between hospitals, or the stay, or the procedures. Not even a pence for the visits to my doctors. It was simple and easy and the care was great.
It’s hard sometimes for me to understand how my fellow Americans can be so opposed to healthcare reform, thus, I imagine it must be even harder for those outside the United States to understand why a significant portion of the American population is against Obama’s plan. It might seem ridiculous when one hears people call it fascist. Personally, I believe it’s ludicrous. Yet, there are a few things one needs to bear in mind about the reform which was eventually passed. Both sides of the political spectrum were unhappy with Obama’s reform. The political right in the US was unhappy it passed at all. At best they see it as the central government growing too big, forcing people to pay for healthcare when it should be their own choice to risk being caught ill or in an accident without coverage. At worst they see a slippery slope of government deciding their future hence they make accusations of fascism. The political left in the US saw the plan as not going far enough. The plan left insurance companies in charge of healthcare decisions based too much on money and not equal care for all. They were also upset the plan emphasized that the federal government would not spend any money on abortions. Often, however, a plan which makes people unhappy is the sign of a good compromise. There was no way Obama could have gotten a health bill through congress without compromising on abortion, which remains the most contentious issue in American politics, and insurance company lobbies would never have allowed their companies to be disbanded and replaced with a European-style fully nationalized health service. The compromises were probably the only way to start the path towards better national healthcare in the US.
So when former Republican Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, goes on TV in an ad for “Repeal it Now” and says that it’s one thing to be forced to take the medicine when we are children, but now we are adults, I will seethe and wonder why on earth if you were sick you wouldn’t want to take your medicine, let alone cheaper medicine, with no worry that you might have to pay extortionate prices for the medicine, or worse, not be able to afford the medicine at all. I will still wonder why some Americans wouldn’t be willing to raise taxes to let their fellow citizens: the sick, the young, the elderly; not be burdened with healthcare worries. But, I’ll try and remember that Huckabee is part of a vocal minority, one that might eventually realize that universal healthcare is actually rather nice. If I didn’t I might end up kicking in my TV. Luckily, this American still has insurance which would cover any subsequent injuries.
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