Views on Obamacare—one nurse’s perspective.

I've been meaning to write this for some time, and in the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling I thought now would be an appropriate time. Let me first preface my comments by saying that our current system has some gaping problems that need to be addressed. Also, while I disagree with a healthcare mandate, I do not think it inherently evil, and I would remind people to be respectful of others’ differing views.

One basic problem with health care in America is that many people choose not to buy health insurance. When an emergency strikes, they seek medical care, rack up a huge bill, but then can’t pay it. Those unpaid costs are factored into everybody else’s costs, making both health care prices and insurance premiums skyrocket. Obamacare seeks to eliminate this problem by mandating that everybody purchase health insurance, and then fining anybody who doesn't.

I see a few problems with this. One: there are plenty of people who still won’t get insurance, and the small fine would never cover their medical costs, which means we would still be stuck trying to cover unpaid medical bills. Two: this bill will drastically change the healthcare system by essentially putting it under the power of the federal government. Now, many don’t mind having a socialized health care system, and I can understand why. Everybody is covered, which is great. But the downside of socializing medicine is that it erases any competition in the market. Thus, American innovation in the health care world will plummet. So I guess you can either give everybody mediocre care or most people excellent care. I know which I’d rather have. In nursing school I studied abroad in Australia, which has a socialized health care system. Don’t get me wrong; health care is fine there, but it wasn’t great. I felt like I had stepped back in time about 30 years. Elective surgeries such as knee replacements had year-long waiting lists. Amputations were much more common because doctors didn’t have the technology to repair limbs like they do here. If you really wanted good care you went to a private hospital rather than a public one because care was so much better there. The fact of the matter is that the private sector ALWAYS does things more efficiently than the federal government. Case in point: the DMV and the Post Office. If any business was run like those two, they wouldn’t last a year.

Another problem I see with this bill is that America simply can’t afford it right now. We are TRILLIONS of dollars in debt right now, and we want to spend another couple trillion to make health care more affordable. I admire the goal to make sure everyone has access to affordable health care, but if it doesn’t fit in the budget, it should wait. Now just isn’t the appropriate time.

I have heard people argue that this bill isn’t any different than forcing people to buy car insurance. But it is. Driving is a privilege. You choose to drive, you don’t choose to be born.

I have a lot more to say, but already this is getting too long, and I actually want people to read it. Lastly I will say that the biggest reason I disagree with this bill is because, in my opinion, it does not align with constitutional principles. Nothing says America like “Federal Mandate,” right? When the government claims to provide free or more-affordable benefits to the American people, all it really means is that our taxes will increase, and we will end up paying for it anyway.