Health Care

I really am not understanding why so many people are supporting the terms of the health care reform just passed in the house. Here's why:

In 2014 people with pre-existing conditions will not be able to be denied. I think pre-existing conditions should be divided up into behavioral pre-existing conditions and non-behavioral pre-existing conditions. People with problems from smoking, obesity, and alcoholism shouldn't be subsidized from taxes or insurance premium by people who exercise and make good choices. If you choose to smoke or drink you should be able to pay a little more to cover your health expenses due to that choice.

Starting in 2013, flexible spending accounts will be limited to a $2,500 maximum and you will no longer be able to use the accounts for over-the-counter medicines. Seriously? Matt and I have a high deductible plan so instead of paying $350 a month we pay $170 a month with a $5,000 deductible. We then put the monthly difference in an Health Savings Account we can use for those things that aren't covered (like over-the-counter medicines) tax free. Why should we not be able to do this? Caping the amount you can put in will just make people put in less and not allow them to pay their bills is they are on a high deductible plan.

They didn't address malpractice. I blogged about this back in Sept, and I still think it is a big root problem, but democrats are basically in bed with lawyers, so nothing will change.

The Country's Triple A rating. This health reform bill is going to cost a lot of money that we don't have. State and federal governments keep passing legislation for more and more entitlement programs without the money to back it. When Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security were first implemented the life expectancy was 65. Now that life expectancy is 75, why can't we move back the age to 60 or 65 instead of 55?

There is a good synopsis in The New York Times if you are interested.