Think Obama Care vs Trump Care is just partisan bickering? NOPE! It is all about LIFE and HEALTH for you and those you love!

I know, I know!!!!  There is absolutely no greater mood killing, depressing and dismaying topic to discuss than insurance or politics!  And, in this context...we have both!!!  In the words of the Tweeter-in-chief, "SAD!!!!" Still, Obama Care vs Trump Care is too important to ignore!  So....here we go....

This is an amazing video that breaks it DOWN!!!

Ezra Klein: The perverse reality of the Republican health care bill

This is a particularly telling interview from NPR of an ex-insurance exec ~ and you know how much I love those vultures!!!

Insurance Industry Worried By GOP Plan To Replace Obamacare, Consultant Says

And who always suffers the most when folks who think the "bottom line" matters more than people, call the shots?  The poorest, sickest, oldest, youngest - our most vulnerable:

From The Atlantic: The Silent Victims of the GOP Health-Care Proposal “Children are the largest single group of beneficiaries on Medicaid—and they don't vote.”

If you think "Obama Care" didn't help you and yours because you have private insurance, you have a lot to rethink!!!

The ACA forced insurance companies to abandon lifetime caps!  Grand totals paid out by insurance plans, no matter that a family has paid into them for years, but ended all future payments for your dad, because after he had ONE significant surgery he maxed out his policy (never mind that he had never used it before)!  Or, your baby was no longer covered by your family plan because she stayed a few nights in the NICU right after birth. Before the ACA, that was it! No more payments.  No more coverage, you were done - UNTIL the ACA changed that horrific policy and made insurance companies play fair!

The ACA forced insurance companies to stop discrimination against those of us with pre-existing conditions.  And if you think melanoma and cancer were the only "pre-existing" diagnoses that allowed insurance companies to charge you more or not sell you insurance at all...at any price...well, that's not true.  Children with a history of a broken leg at age 4, which healed perfectly, found themselves uncovered at all or just not "that leg" should, heaven forbid it suffer an injury in an accident, football game, or develop a sarcoma.  And folks with high blood pressure, diabetes, or  a heart attack...well, they could just forget it.

The ACA stopped insurance companies from taking Americans' hard earned money for junk plans that didn't pay anything when they needed well check ups for their kids, vaccines, pap smears, mamograms, basic care when sick with a cold, flu, pneumonia, asthma...I could go on.  Those plans were a big surprise when folks tried to use them to attain basic healthcare. They were deemed illegal by the ACA.

The ACA expanded medicaid in the states willing to accept the help to cover our working poor and children.

The ACA did NOT cause your insurance rates to go up!!  Insurance company execs did that...with the approval of state legislatures. Executives who make 15-20 million dollars a year for their amazing management skills.  THEY decided they needed even more....at our expense!!!

The ACA allowed children up to the age of 26 to stay on their family's plans.

The ACA is not perfect.  There are many ways in which it could be improved.  So why don't we??? Cause here's the deal...

HEALTH: AMERICA'S HUMAN INFRASTRUCTURE

The health of our nation, physical and mental, is the vital living human infrastructure of our society. That infrastructure is absolutely essential for everything else. It includes everyone from the infant to the elder. It encompasses all parts of life: birth, childhood, adulthood, old age and death. It is what and how we eat and drink. It is the air we breathe. Procreation, pain, suffering, joy and fulfillment are all rooted in our health. The health of our nation is sacred and shared. The health of one literally affects the health of all. Wisely, health is enshrined in our Declaration of Independence: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. It is life, that comes first as a necessary condition and the right to health care is the concrete embodiment of that right to life. There are those who are blind to the communal nature of health. They deny health care as a right, seeing it only as a privilege for the few with resources. A privilege restricted to those whom they consider innocent, powerful or wealthy enough to save from disease, suffering and death. We must fight for the right to our health care and our lives. All of us are innocent enough, powerful enough, rich and deserving enough to have the same opportunities for healthcare. So, we join the struggle for our health with the United States Congress. It is the struggle for and of our lives and those we love. It is also the struggle for the survival and spirit of the United States. We will not lose because we cannot lose.   (Just a little op-ed written by me and B)

Indeed, the health of our neighbors, friends and family - our fellow AMERICANS - is our most essential infrastructure.  The health of our nation is the well from which all else springs.

I believe in all Americans.  I believe that healthcare is a right ~ one that belongs to all of us ~ those is the prime of health with lots of money, as well as those who are less fortunate and perhaps more in need.  No matter where you fall on that scale today....it is a fluid place.  One minute you are gainfully employed with bountiful health, the next you are facing a life threatening illness, too ill to work (NOT too lazy!!!).  But, thanks to science and the generous spirit of your fellow Americans....you can cross the bridge to health and productivity once more.  YES, WE CAN do that for each other!  And....we should. 

Much love, les