90 Days After ObamaCare

Health care reform was one of President Obama's largest platforms during his campaign. Thus the majority of his efforts have been to pass his health care reform bill following his election. Obama's presidency has promised a change for the American people regarding their access to quality health care. And now according to his latest press conference dated Tuesday, June 22, 2010, President Obama claims that only 90 days after his health care reform bill has been passed into law he can see the positive changes that guarantee the rights of all American citizens to have access to affordable quality health care.

Is that so?

A Presidential press conference where President Obama states that after a meeting with the CEO's of some of our country's largest health insurance companies concluded with "Everyone (involved in this debate) was in agreement that something needed to be done about America's broke health care system.", doesn't fit my definition of a positive change. That was just stating the obvious.

President Obama said that this new health care reform law will "cut costs and make coverage more affordable or families and businesses."

President Obama then went on to say, "It's reform that finally extends the opportunities the purchase coverage to the millions who currently don't have it."

My fifty-nine year old husband and I are self-employed consultants. As such we have been consequently unable to afford any health care due to the economic crash precipitated by President Obama's bail-outs of Wall Street and Big Business. Not one health insurance provider has emailed, sent a letter or called us to let us know about all of this great new affordable health insurance that President Obama's health care reform law promised. Were that to be the case I would agree with the sentiments expressed in President Obama's press conference earlier today. The only people that emailing, writing and ringing our phones off the hook recently are the bill collectors.

Before President Obama took office the majority of people who rang our phone were family and friends. We could afford to pay for our own health care as work was plentiful for us.

Speaking of phone calls... We spoke with my 85 year old mother-in-law last night. She is a retired school teacher who lives on a fixed income. She's had various health care treatments that were quite expensive (ie hip replacements). The majority of the costs were paid for in greater part by her insurance companies. The balance was covered under supplemental insurance via medicare. A few months ago she fell. Consequently she needed surgery for her knee. She was just told by her doctor's office that due to the recent implementation of the heavily pushed new health care reform bill her doctor will no longer be accepting medicare or supplemental insurance. This creates a $15,000.00 out-of-pocket expense that she did not have just before this "greatest consumer protection legislation act ever to be made policy in United States history" passed. The same one that President Obama is now touting as if it was a marker for the pinnacle of success regarding his presidency.

I don't know what my fellow American citizens envisioned when they heard President Obama promise us a change but this wasn't quite the change I had in mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7vQ4KWXzMc