Fighting
Obamacare
I wrote a number of
months ago about a conversation
I had with a neighbor with whom I share absolutely nothing in common
politically. His political positions
stem largely from his atheism, which he has proclaimed to me numerous times
with pride. We recently had another
conversation and though I am far more concerned about his atheism than his
liberalism, the conversation quickly focused on Mr. Obama and Obamacare
(sparked by a bumper sticker on my car).
One thing that has
become painfully obvious in my conversations with supporters of Obamacare is
that they rarely actually know anything about it. And I have yet to meet any of its supporters
who recognize its consequences (including apparently Mr. Obama).
The most vehement
opposition to Obamacare from people of faith is, of course, directed at the HHS
mandate, which forces employers to pay for contraception, sterilization and
abortion-drug coverages against the dictates of their consciences. This mandate is representative of a number of
things the government presumably can force us to provide and pay for, now that
it is arguing it can usurp our rights to conscience protection and religious
freedom.
A report
from the Congressional Budget Office last week brings up another major concern
with the health law. Since it began to
be implemented, we have seen health care costs skyrocket, and now, according to
the report, 7 million people who currently have health insurance, will lose it.
Many of us saw this
coming. Mr. Obama denied that it would.
What we are seeing
is the first wave of people who will be forced off of private insurance plans
that they like and forced onto the government exchanges. Mr. Obama is on record
in the past saying that he approves a single-payer, government-run system, much
like what Canada has. These 7 million
people are the first wave of the coming tsunami that will make that a reality
unless we put a stop to it.
Why is that so
bad? First, it should be noted that
studies universally show that countries with socialized medicine have lower
quality health care. In the Western
world, Great Britain is the worst, followed by the rest of Europe, followed by
Canada. The United States, by contrast,
had the highest quality medical care in the world as of 2009, just before Mr.
Obama started messing with it.
But there is a far
greater problem. Once the government
takes control of health care, we will lose the choices a free market provides
us. We have seen the federal government
time and time again promoting the culture of death in medicine, as an effort to
cut costs.
We have already
begun to see it happen. Insurance plans
generally cover treatments that are deemed to be effective. For example, if I am elderly and in need of a
pacemaker, my insurance should cover it if a pacemaker would be an effective
treatment for me and if I can endure the procedure.
What we have begun
to see, and what Mr. Obama has built into his plan with its death
panels, is that treatments are being judged not solely based on their
effectiveness, but on the patient who will be receiving it. So if I am elderly and in need of a
pacemaker, it may be determined that given my age, I don’t have too many years
left anyway and it would not be cost effective to save my life. The money (controlled by a bankrupt government)
would be better spent somewhere else or on someone younger. The coverage is based on the government’s perception
of the person who needs treatment rather than the effectiveness of the
treatment itself.
That’s scary
enough, but how about this? One of the Obama
administration’s defenses of the HHS mandate was that by providing free
contraception, it was reducing pregnancy, and saving money. When the government runs the whole show, will
sterilization then be required after a certain number of children? Or will only the first three be covered by
insurance perhaps, because after that the family is not “cost effective?”
What about children with
disabilities from birth? Already an
attitude is forming among some which says that since abortion is available, and
covered, a parent who wishes to give birth to a disabled child should shoulder
the responsibility without the help of insurance. It was their choice, after all, why should a
broke government bear the cost.
How about the elderly? We have seen a decline in palliative care as
it is. Once euthanasia becomes
universal, won’t we be told it is “patriotic” to be euthanized (which the
government will pay for) rather than be a financial burden? If we do make the selfish choice not to
commit suicide, don’t expect the help of insurance for our care. The government will be in charge. And, unlike abortion, there are some choices
it simply won’t subsidize.
These are all ridiculous
conspiracy theories, right? I think
we’ve seen enough by now to know better.
I have not seen one thing out of the Democratic power base in Washington
that would make me doubt any of these scenarios some time in the future.
So what do we do about it? We keep fighting. We refuse to comply with unjust laws and
mandates. We file law suits. We support our bishops and get out the
truth. Many of our politicians are
willing to give in, but we can’t let them.
Write them letters and make sure they know we’re paying attention. Most people do not want to see these things
happen. But most people are completely
ignorant of what Obamacare does.
We can also find ethical
alternatives and take advantage of them.
What I have presented is a worst-case scenario, but a realistic
one. We can only keep it from becoming
reality if we are steadfast. And most of
all, if we are people of prayer. Not
only is prayer our greatest weapon, but when we fight these temporal battles,
we need that constant contact with God to be sure that we remain grounded and
that our efforts are made in His Spirit and for His glory.
