Thousands Will Still Die under Obamacare



by Mona Shaw

I am sincerely happy for those who can now have cheaper insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA/Obamacare).  I am happy for those younger-than-26 adults who are now covered on their parents’ insurance.  I am happiest for those who now qualify for Medicaid who had nothing before.

 

But I cannot celebrate this bill.  It still leaves too many without affordable care.  Obamacare (or the ACA) has a cynical and, for many, a cruel name.  The ACA does NOT provide affordable care.  It doesn’t provide care at all.  It only provides (and only for some) affordable insurance.  It does not guarantee care for anyone.  Care is still dependent on how much insurance someone can afford and how much they can pay out of pocket before they reach very high deductibles.  People who cannot afford it will still be denied care.

People will still avoid going to the doctor to avoid the high cost of a doctor’s visit.  People will still use Emergency Rooms when they become seriously ill because they could not afford that visit or any preventative or well care.  (While insurance companies are now required to OFFER coverage for these.  Only the very affluent can afford the policies that include this coverage.)

Also, if a patient has an outstanding bill or can’t afford the co-payment, patients can still be refused treatment, even if they have insurance.  I.e. a patient can still be denied chemo by a hospital if they can’t pay an outstanding bill not covered by insurance.

Hundreds, probably thousands, will die this coming year still because they can’t afford care.  To tell these people “Obamacare is a start” will be cold comfort to those planning a loved one’s funeral.  The people who will die matter.  It is immoral and heinous to regard them as collateral damage in a system that still only works for some.  They matter as human beings as much as the more affluent who won’t die.  Most of them will be low-income people who work hard for a living.

 

I can’t celebrate until I live in a nation where not ONE person is denied the healthcare they need to survive.  I don’t know how anyone can.  Demand Single Payer.