In defense of ‘Obamacare’
Re “A checkup of views on health reform,” Business, March 2
I appreciated David Lazarus’ column on some of the recent healthcare reforms under what critics refer to as “Obamacare.”
Iwould add the following: The new healthcare reform law eliminates the preexisting conditions loophole by insurance companies for children, and it will do the same for adults in a few years; it wiped out insurance caps or lifetime limits for the insured; it gives women expanded breast screenings; it prohibits dropping people who become “too sick”; and it allows young people to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26. Seniors also received a rebate to help pay for prescription drug costs until the “doughnut hole” is eliminated.
The new healthcare law needs to be given time to work. President Obama has not been given enough credit in helping to bring about much-needed healthcare reform for Americans.
Mark C. Salvaggio
Bakersfield
The Lazarus article hit the nail right on the head.
I constantly hear from my friends about how they “hate Obamacare” and can’t wait to get it repealed. I usually tell them about people I know who are positively affected by it. My wife, for example, would be uninsurable without it (she’s a breast cancer survivor). I now have a more concise list of benefits that may hit closer to home for the people I interact with. My friends and acquaintances are living proof of the premise of the article: namely that there is an epidemic of ignorance about healthcare reform.
John Kramer
Irvine
Lazarus’ explanation of Obamacare made it so understandable.
It has driven me crazy listening to friends, relatives and politicians elaborate only on portions of healthcare reform but not tell the “whole” truth. Every health plan needs healthy as well as sick people to be insured to average out the costs. For instance, I’m very healthy yet my husband is an organ transplant recipient.
Sharon Clizer
Clarkston, Wash.
Lazarus failed to mention the rising costs to us all since the reform bill was passed.
How much do you suppose all those calorie counts on restaurant menus have cost? Do you suppose more than a few jobs may have been lost because of that mandate? Do you suppose a single person who has not already learned to push away from the table has paid any attention to those numbers?
I am a very healthy male with no ongoing issues, and I visit the doctor maybe once a year for a checkup, but my premium has nearly doubled since the reform law was passed.
So yes, I have felt an impact already. I can’t wait to see what the government tells me I have to buy next.
Jeffrey C. Briggs
Hollywood