Look for the good in health care law

Do you know what AHCA stands for? Hint: It’s a bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. It is the acronym for the Affordable Health Care Act, also known by the Republican spin machine as “Obamacare.”

The Supreme Court will decide this year whether the government can require Americans to buy health insurance. If the court rules that it is unconstitutional, some say that it would also nullify Social Security and Medicare, because both also mandate that folks pay into government plans for their old age. Some even go so far as to say it makes a case to nullify the income tax because it forces citizens to pay for the EPA, the FDA, Medicaid, the FAA and the military. In short, it would possibly create a libertarian society in which everyone must fend for himself.

Personally, I like the Affordable Health Care Act, if I can’t get single-payer health care. It pains me to know that very sick people are refused health care in the U.S. because of job loss, or having a very expensive illness and then having an insurance company “trump up” pre-existing condition claims in order to deny coverage. Or, the very simple fact that in this bad economy folks lose jobs, lose income and lose their insurance, and then get sick.

Young folks, under the AHCA, are able to stay on their parents’ health insurance to age 26. This is a huge benefit to those who are unemployed.

James Peterson

Hoffman Estates