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Health & Fitness

The Devil Is In the Details—Unless the Details Aren't Read

Have we given up ownership of our political system? Do laws require a fairness test? Are we no longer equal in the sight of the law?

Are politicians held accountable by American citizens? Before you answer, consider this: The Affordable Care Act of 2010 was passed to the cheers of many and changed the course of American medical care.

Prior to the passage of this bill we were treated to a display of Congressional transparency. Congressman Charlie Rangel dismissed the idea he should read the bill prior to voting. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi said, “We must pass the bill to see what is in it.”

Leader Pelosi was right. Now that the bill is passed we are learning what is in it. A couple of the highlights of the new direction of public health care are worth discovering. Several sections have either been deleted or are in the process of being deleted. Why the change of mind? Once the Congressional bill was read it was found there were several programs which were either too expensive to implement or hurt the medical community. Once these errors were found, Congress did not react by overturning the bill and starting fresh. Apparently recognizing the bill was flawed was not enough to consider repeal.

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Once the bill was read, we also found out there were a number of new taxes. One of the new taxes is paid when you sell your home. How does selling your home have an effect on health care? Strange you would ask, because it doesn’t matter. Refusal to read a bill of over 2,000 pages and discovering serious misjudgments on cost and implementation has not resulted in repeal.

Many states refused to set up the exchanges required under the bill. The states that refused will still get an exchange; it will be paid by the Federal Government. Those states setting up their own exchange will be forced to pay for it from their state budgets. The exchange for small business has been delayed one year; they cannot figure out how to make it work.

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Medical magazines and the popular press are reporting doctors retiring earlier than originally planned. Higher workloads, lower reimbursement rates and burdensome regulations are convincing—by some reports—6 in 10 doctors to consider early retirement. I doubt 6 in 10 doctors will retire; however, there is concern. We add, by some estimates, 30 million people to the health care system over the next decade and yet, unquestionably, we will have fewer doctors.

Some Democrats who voted for this bill are now trying to distance themselves from the implementation of this law. This flight from accountability accelerated when HHS Secretary Sebelius admitted the cost would be double the initial estimates. Those seeking re-election are finding it very hard to defend a bill decreasing the amount of health services available, while increasing the premium to stay insured.

In some cases the Affordable Care Act is costing Americans their jobs. Several private and government agencies are reported to be cutting the hours of employees by splitting job duties, which reduces their hours and thus their eligibility for health insurance.

It is my guess the Affordable Care Act will die, either from legislative action, or from the rotted base upon which it was built. The ACA is not really the issue. The issue is that we pay for a legislature, which passed a bill of over two thousand pages, without reading it. The issue is Americans being held accountable for laws which were not read before Congress enacted them. A group of legislators voted on a primary change in the way this country receives its health care and did not have enough concern to read the bill, discuss the details, or truthfully explain to citizens what this transformation would mean.

Here is my question on the Affordable Care Act: Does this bother you, and what are you going to do about it?

Are you required to follow laws when no one, except the special interest groups who wrote each section, has read a bill? Should any law be passed which is too long to be easily read? Have we given up ownership of our political system? Should one group of citizens be penalized for working hard and becoming successful? Do laws require a fairness test? Are we no longer equal in the sight of the law? As we prepare for the midterm 2014 National Elections, I ask you to consider these questions.

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