Women Will Steer the Fate of Health Care Reform

This article is very misleading. The new ACA is not all sunshine and roses. Have you tried buying private insurance recently? The options available are fewer and the prices are higher. Beyond the debate of the legality of their action, do any of us really want a health insurance plan that Congress won't even subject themselves to? The ACA is going to cost us a lot, including great doctors. Two of my doctors are going to retire unless the ACA is struck down. Study the ACA yourself, do not take what someone else says as gospel.

No one knows what's in this 2,000+ page bill, even Pelosi said "we have to pass the bill to find out what's in it", that is one of the MOST amazing statements a person pushing this can make. We need major changes in our healthcare system however the way that Obama pushed this through was wrong. Aren't you at all suspicious of why Obama is putting this bill into effect until 2014, AFTER he maybe nominated for a 2nd term. I pray to God everyday that this gets completely repealed as that is what most Americans want & then done the right way.

I have to say I am a little surprised at all of the fear of "big bad government" that is going on here. It might be time to replace watching television and reciting the talking points of the day with actually doing the/some research. To question the "legality" of the actions of an overwhelmingly elected and people supported governing body, a body that was elected because of its promises to its people, one of which was to pass this bill specifically, is a little ridiculous.

I have actually experienced the kind of "evil government run health care" that this bill IS bringing to our country and let me say it is nothing less than amazing! (Ask any European) I had a difficult pregnancy while living in Japan and actually experienced better care in that country than I did when I returned to our country to have my child. Seven months of overnight stays, weekly yes weekly doctor visits, IV's to replenish my fluids from extreme morning sickness, accompanied by monthly ultra sounds to check on my baby's progress all for a whopping 1,000 U.S. which, I might add, they apologized for having to collect. Amazing! We should be ashamed of ourselves for not doing this sooner.

Lets just say that it was quite a wake up call to get back home and pay my premium private insurance bill of 700 a month only to have my OB walk into the examination room on my fourth visit and ask "Who I was here to see." "Followed by a lecture on how babies who were born by cesarean were actually smarter than babies born vaginally because of the procedures elimination of fetal head trauma!" Imagine how much brighter Einstein could have been if we had only known this in 1849. WOW!!!! Oh, how I wish I was making this up!

No my sisters this bill is a God send and even though some of us mommies are not as vocal as our fear mongering counter parts our votes and actions ring from the rafters with a veracity that is unparalleled. God bless the ACA and the Obama administration for doing what they were sent to Washington to do.

Signed,

-The quite but powerful contingency!

My daughter has cancer. She was diagnosed the last week of July while visiting family in Australia. Australia has national health care. I am with my daughter now in Australia. If my daughter had fallen ill in America, before certain clauses of ACT were able to go in force, our insurance company in America would have done nothing for her because she had taken a gap year from college. We are waiting for these parts of ACT to pass before my daughter comes back to her homeland. Have a heart. Remember, "there but for the grace of God go I".

Yes, the only problem with the health care bill is that the "fear mongers" caused it to be watered down so that it is not as effective as it could have been. Actually, I know many people who are disappointed that we didn't get a plan more like the rest of the first world has. And while there are some Doctors who are ignorant of the good effects of reform, there are many others who would have supported a true national health care plan. Ask Doctors who work for Kaiser and the Mayo Clinic why those health plans come out so high, and are not the highest priced. A lot of it is because the Doctors are on salary and also have the power to direct patient care in the way that they think is best.

As for Nancy Pelosi's statement, if you know anything about the way that government HAS to work, you would understand it. Every law depends on the regulations that are written to actually put it fully in force. Until the law is passed and the actual regulations are written to go into effect, it is impossible to know how everything will shake out. I work in the field of disabled access. The ADA is a civil rights law that makes broad, sweeping statements. However, different bodies and agencies have to write the nit picky stuff (how wide is a door that a wheelchair can pass through? and what makes a restroom actually usable for someone in a wheelchair?) Regulations have to be written that don't conflict with other regulations. It's complicated business and takes time and expertise. And that is being done right now with the health care bill.

That's why it's so important that we have good people in government. The top people appoint the cabinet members, who choose deputies, and those set the tone of the various agencies. When the agencies have support from above and are allowed to do their jobs well, the public benefits. When they are told to deliberately neglect their jobs because the top people do not actually believe in the government they are running, you get graft and corruption and neglect. That is what happened to the financial industry the 8 years proceding. Let us hope that the American people choose to retain people who believe that government should be helping ordinary people, and the health care bill may actually do some good, even if it is somewhat weak.

Sharon Toji

I am annoyed that I'm reading this pro-government health care article in a forum about mommy-related issues and advice. The previous topics and discussions have always been free of political undertones. This article was extremely one-sided and insulting to my husband. He is involved in the decison-making on our healthcare just as much as I am, and we have both decided that we don't want the Government to have any part in our healthcare. They haven't proved themselves effective in other areas. Why would I trust them with something so important to my family?

I, too, agree that this article is misleading and one-sided. Everyone is entitled to their opinions on the matter but the fact is that this massive spending bill is going to bankrupt our country and put our children in a position worse than they are in now. This bill did nothing to address the torts system and did nothing to lower insurance costs, while giving the government further ability to meddle in our lives. Living in Washington D.C., having met many of our chosen leaders, this is a scary proposition. I hope to God I'm wrong but these people want nothing more than a power grab.

Here is another site that I have always enjoyed turning political. I wouldn't have a problem with this if the article would have been about both sides of the issue not praising one. I have read the majority of this healthcare bill and after having done so I want absolutely no parts of it. I have also worked in healthcare for over 10 yrs and am thankful that I took time off to raise my daughter. In the past year, due to the taxes and premiums going up just to pay for this, I have seen over 300 people at the local hospitals lose their jobs. So please inform yourselves and read everything. As for me, I will no longer be a part of a community that doesn't give all sides. Goodbye mamapedia, your narrowmindedness has just lost a member.