Obamacare was enacted into law in 2010 by the Harry Reid (D-NV) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)-controlled Congress under the moniker of, “We have to pass the bill to see what’s in it.” How can the potential effects of a bill on the constituents, and the nation, be evaluated if nobody can analyze the costs, practicality and other effects of the bill? Obamacare, officially known as the Patient Protection and Healthcare Affordability Act of 2010 was passed, or shall we say shoved down the throats of Americans, under the guise that it would provide jobs, create affordable healthcare for all Americans and that it would enable the nation to rise out of economic recession which has perforated American life seemingly for the last decade.
For college students, the appeal of Obamacare may be found in its ability to help them avoid putting on their big boy, or big girl, pants by allowing them to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until the age of 26. But is this really a perk? Not at all. Allowing students to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until 26 would not only remove any incentive for getting a full-time job, but it still fails to assist uninsured students because those whose parents do not have insurance would still be subjected to the unconstitutional mandate and its costs and fines.
The tanning tax aside, one of the main constitutional issues with Obamacare is found in its individual mandate. This mandate would require everyone in the country to purchase “government-approved health insurance.” This should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans as it is an egregious overreach by the federal government. It is the American government attempting to control what you buy; in fact, forcing you to buy something you may, or may not, want or require. While many Americans are currently without health care coverage, it simply is not everybody else’s job to pay for it.
Obamacare would also take away the insurance some people already have because their current plans would not fall under the “government-approved” stamp. Nobody knows what “government-approved” really means, so the government can arbitrarily accept or deny various plans. The constitutional issues are being raised by the Attorney Generals of 26 states including: Florida, Virginia, Michigan and Arizona. However, many college students may ask: what aspects of the bill are pressing for them?
The answer to that question is simple: again, Obamacare not only takes away your freedom to choose what to do with your own money, but it also has the potential to ruin the healthcare system that we have become so accustomed to. In fact, nearly half of primary care doctors in the United States would consider leaving their practice when Obamacare goes into effect, according to a study by the New England Journal of Medicine. So how does Obamacare really work if it essentially takes one-half to two-thirds of all American doctors out of the equation? If wages decrease, how enticing is a job as a doctor? Where’s the incentive to go to medical school? There isn’t. Obamacare would simply cripple not only American healthcare (considered one of the best systems in the world, in the 81st percentile according to the World Health Organization) but it would also add over $500 billion to the national debt over the next 10 years. Simply put, college students often rail about how they should be able to do what they want, when they want, how they want—but what they seem to forget is that once you let the government in, you’ll never get it out. Obamacare removes the sense of liberty which college students seem to hold so dear. Therefore, the question becomes, do college students simply enjoy liberty when it is convenient?
Even those who cannot afford their medical bills have risen up against Obamacare. For example, Mary Brown, the face of one of the many lawsuits in the court system against Obamacare, has filed for bankruptcy protection for her debts. Now, it seems like Brown is a perfect argument for the implementation of Obamacare, when she actually is not. Even though her medical bills have caused her to go bankrupt, she is still unwavering behind the idea that the government cannot and should not be able to force her to buy something.
Brown is a principled woman who, even though her medical bills have drowned her and her husband in debt, does not waver from the idea that government should not have any say in her healthcare decisions. The argument is made on the left that Brown’s bankrupt assets get covered by the American taxpayers is not true. In personal bankruptcy cases, the unpaid debt is merely relinquished back onto, and absorbed by, the company. While it may result in higher production costs to cover that loss, it still utilizes a system of choice, in that individuals can continue buying from that company after the price hike if they so choose.
Obamacare spits in the face of the Constitution and tramples on the graves of our founders, who would be so displeased at the overbearing actions of government in our time. Obamacare is merely one of the attempts of government to gain power through controlling the needs of the poor, or in this case, uninsured.
Unfortunately, when people, especially Americans, see an easy alternative to something, they usually take it. They merely remove the main tenets of liberty and freedom to the back of their minds while choosing what is best for themselves. But what is best for you is simply not always what is best for your country or others around you and Americans should take a long hard look at the road down which our selfish ways are leading us and ask ourselves, “Do we want to continue to be the greatest country in the world? Or instead, do we want to acquiesce to the lowest common denomiators of our society and allow them to pull our country down as a whole while allowing government to hold them up?” Allowing government to hold everyone up only gives the government more ability to take power and once they take it the people will never get it back.
Boston Ross can be reached at bross@spartans.ut.edu.