Well, y'all remember where you were a year ago Wednesday, the one year anniversary of President Obama signing the Affordable Care Act, a/k/a "ObamaCare" as its known here in Florida and other hostile parts.
Most polls show the legislation slightly underwater, though it's opposition has at times been overrated. But as we all know, there is very little certainty that is basic tenets will hold, as all indications are that it's constitutionality will be decided upon by John Roberts and his friends at the U.S. Supreme Court.
As the Washington D.C. based The Hill newspaper reports, after the House's vote to repeal the bill was DOA in the Senate, the GOP led body has been trying to kill it softly.
Rebuffed in their efforts to repeal the law, House Republicans are singling out several provisions for elimination, including a long-term care insurance program, an independent payment advisory board, a tax on medical device makers and a regulation that insurance brokers and agents fear pushes them out of the marketplace. A handful of Democrats have signed onto some of the bills, but it’s too early to tell whether any will see the light of day in the Senate
Nationally and locally, Democrats and OFA (Obama For America), have been working it hard this past week to highlight those citizens whose lives have been affected positively. An event was held Wednesday night at St.Petersburg's PushUltra Lounge with Health & Human Services Regional Director Anton Gunn.
On a conference call Wednesday morning, South Florida Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz rattled off a string of achievements that the legislation has led to, saying, " Families no longer have to worry about losing their insurance, or having it capped unexpectedly if someone is in an accident or becomes sick; small business owners no longer need to fear insurance companies raising premiums by double digits with no recourse or accountability…and parents now have the choice of providing health coverage for a child after they finish school by allowing young adults up to the age of 26 to stay on their parents insurance. [In addition] independent estimates show it will reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars by cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse and stopping hundreds of billions in unfair and irresponsible subsidies to insurance companies that are now paid by taxpayers."
Also on the call was Zena Thorpe, a senior citizen from Chatsworth, California, who said she was pleased the health care bill pulled her out of the "donut hole" because of the medication she was taking for breast cancer that cost nearly $1,000 every three months.
“It’s remarkably easy for a senior to fall into the donut hole, so I was very grateful for the $250 check from the Affordable Care Act that helped me with the medication costs. And I understand that eventually the Affordable Care Act will completely close the donut hole and I will look forward to that, " she said."
Propaganda you say? I suppose you could say that. But while nobody, least of all liberals, seem too excited by the bill, they don't want it to go away.
Some say Florida Governor Rick Scott wouldn't have been elected as Governor if he didn't have such a fat, juicy issue like health care to run against, despite the fact that his Democratic gubernatorial opponent, Alex Sink, was always pretty wishy washy on the issue. Today Scott celebrated the anniversary of the law, which, regardless of how one feels about the legislation, absolutely aided Republicans at the polls last year. The Governor had lots to say on Wednesday:
One year later, I remain convinced that Obamacare is bad for patients, businesses and taxpayers. This ill-conceived policy will force Florida to spend an additional $12.8 billion on Medicaid and add an additional 2.1 million Floridians to Medicaid. Eliminating patient choice, rationing care and implementing the largest tax hikes in American history are just the beginning of the federal mandate’s consequences. I commend Florida’s Attorney General Pam Bondi and the other elected officials throughout the country who are standing up to Obamacare. This law has already been ruled unconstitutional in Florida. Now, we need an expedited appellate process to finish the case against Obamacare, and we need the federal government to immediately repeal the taxes enacted to pay for its implementation.”
The fight continues.
This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2011.