It’s time to stand up

I always believed that America was the beacon of hope. Because we were a Christian nation we were required to be leaders, protectors, rescuers and big brothers to the defenseless. But this image of our country is being dismantled one brick at a time. We’re becoming head-waggers to the worst of behavior. We’re sacrificing what we know in our hearts to be right for political one-upmanship.

This political assault on health care tells the tale. The only people who think this is a good idea are those who assume their Medicare is safe or expect to always work for a company that will provide proper health care. Somehow it seems OK to take affordable health care from working-class Americans or to take Medicaid away from older Americans in assisted living. And folks don’t realize how this will adversely affect the funding of smaller local hospitals.

When I breached 60, my health insurance shot up to around $1,700 a month. I was an active nonsmoker who had never seen a day in the hospital. I raised my deductible to push it down to the $1,200 range. Being a small-business owner, this was an overwhelming situation until a friend and fellow small-business owner suggested the ACA. For the same coverage I paid $380 a month until I qualified for Medicare.

Do you know why I didn’t immediately pursue this myself? Because I didn’t trust a government initiative. From beginning to end, I had the same exact coverage with Blue Cross. It was never government-run.

This new health-care initiative will push us back to a not-too-distant time when growing older meant unaffordable health care. They will offer you plans with lower premiums, but with watered-down coverage and caps on listed ailments.

Now is the time to stand up for Christian principles. It doesn’t really matter which side of the political fence you’re on; we all better start paying attention to what is going in Washington.

And it carries a dark cloud. WADE GREEN

Camden