WASHINGTON — Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them.
Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors’ offices, human resources departments and business groups.
“They’re saying, ‘Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?’ ” said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com. The California-based company sells coverage from 185 health insurance carriers in 50 states.
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/04/06/91696/health-care-overhaul-spawns-mass.html#ixzz0kc8SKeLT
Sorry folks, you were suckered. You were tricked into thinking you were getting “free Government Healthcare” which, by the way, wouldn’t really be a terrible idea. Don’t get me wrong, I support the idea of better Healthcare for everyone.
But the recent ObamaCare bill isn’t going to be what the people want, or even what they think it is. Instead of Government based coverage for everyone you’re basically getting a system that will end up subsidizing the Insurance industry by forcing everyone to get insurance whether they need it or not. You’re still going to be paying too much for services and surgery, it’s just now you also get to pay for Insurance you may not want, need, or be able to afford.
So hey, it’s ok isn’t it? They told you it was going to be great! There were a few guys out there telling you “write your congress person” and “don’t let it pass” but they are just crazy guys ranting about whatever for ratings right? They don’t know what they are talking about right? They are all just “evil republicans” jealous of the democrat’s in power or crazy Tea Partiers. We should all just trust in Obama because he talks nice and has a good smile. Also we can’t hate him because people will claim we’re just racist against the first minority president.
Besides, he told us we’d get free Healthcare! Well didn’t he? We know he said it somewhere, or was that just media hype and confusion. Does anyone even really know what’s in this Healthcare bill? Do we need to know? Our congress people all know, they know what’s good for us don’t they? We voted them in didn’t we? Well, not all of us voted,. that would require we take time out to care and think and leave the house on voting day.
Sort of like how writing letters is a good idea but we should leave it to someone else. These congress people are much too busy to read *my* letter, and surely someone else who is more able then I will make a stand right? Besides Tiger Woods is screwing some prostitute and Sandra Bullock wants to kill her Nazi Ex Boyfriend. That’s WAY more important than some bill in congress.
Besides, those guys in Washington know what they are doing, they care about us, we voted for them after all…. they care… right?
April 28th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Pardon?
“Free government health care” was a conservative/insurance industry straw man (and I find it interesting how the quote from the article is from a industry representative). The reform bill, as discussed and rediscussed over ten months, was never seriously sold as “free health care.” If people are confused on that point, it’s not because of the supporters of the legislation.
May 10th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
True, but the media pushed it in such a confusing manner people assumed they were essentially going to get “free health care”. Not that knowing otherwise would have likely pushed the average person into action like say, writing their congress person to tell them they do not support the bill.
May 11th, 2010 at 8:14 am
I’m not sure that’s true, frankly. I find it curious that the story cites an insurance industry representative, since the industry is far from a neutral party here. They fought the bill tooth and nail (though lord knows why, since I agree that it operates as a massive sop to them), and it’s hardly a stretch to think that they’d have a vested interest in portraying the now-passed legislation in as negative a light as possible.
But even if it is a legitimate issue indicative of a significant trend, I emphasize again that the misunderstanding owes more to the bill’s opponents than its supporters or the media coverage of the legislative process itself. The same “crazy guys ranting about whatever” and urging people to oppose the bill were the primary source of the “free government healthcare” disinformation (which they used as a straw man). Insofar as the lie did get traction in the media, it was as part of the coverage of the bill’s opponents. Which, I think, speaks more to the ineptitude of the opposition than anything else: if people didn’t write their congress critters to voice a lack of support because they thought they were getting free healthcare, then the logical conclusion is that the bill’s opponents shot themselves in the foot by convincing people to do exactly the opposite of what they wanted them to do.
But mostly I just find it kinda silly to call out the media for lack of coverage of the HCR process. I hate to be put in the position of defending traditional news outlets, but this debate got wall-to-wall coverage for *months*. No other piece of legislation in recent memory got that sort of attention: the Republican tax cut package was passed back in 2001 with far less attention, and things like the PATRIOT Act, the DMCA, and the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act got almost no coverage at all until months or years after passage. Media coverage of the HCR process may have been confusing (but, then, the legislative process itself is confusing) and I wouldn’t call it anywhere near perfect (there was still too much “he said/she said” in the name of balanced reporting), but it was a far better example of media diligence than we’ve seen in a long, long time.