the affordable healthcare act... and the poor...

Whether you like politics or not, your life is affected by the decisions that politicians make.  It doesn't matter a person's age or socio-economic background, the politics and the political issues of our times impact all of us.  Sometimes, the people who have no voice in our political system, the ones who other more powerful or influential people would prefer be forgotten and for whom not many speak - the poor, the homeless, those who live on the margins of society - sometimes it is these people whose lives are affected most by the decisions our politicians make.  

One of the biggest debates in politics these days is the Affordable Healthcare Act (there is actually a longer name for this new healthcare law, but most people will recognize it by the name Obama-Care).  This new law has now been ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States, but still there continues to be political resistance to it.  One of its provisions, the expansion of Medicaid coverage, is under state, not federal control.   Some of our state governors (mostly Republican governors) still say they are either hesitant, undecided or will flat out refuse to implement this provision - they will not expand coverage under Medicaid to their state's poorer citizens.  


It is unfortunate that many people think of the poor and marginalized as lazy, shiftless, or "no good"... but these descriptive adjectives could not be farther from the truth.  The truth is, the majority of those living in poverty are hard working individuals, who many times work long hours for low pay, sometimes working two or three jobs just to try to make ends meet.  They usually have jobs that do not provide them with health care benefits, and do not pay them enough so they might buy their own health care policies.  


To make matters worse, while they do not make enough money to be able to afford to buy their own health care policy, many of them make too much money to be eligible for coverage under Medicaid.  Therefore, they are not able to take advantage of regular and preventive health care for themselves or their families, leading to the possibility of more expensive health issues down the road... for which society could end up paying anyway!
The Affordable Care Act (Obama-Care) could change that, if the governors of the individual states would be willing to implement the provision that will expand Medicaid coverage for the citizens in their states.


Most of the governors who oppose this provision do so ostensibly for economic reasons, or so they say.  It is my opinion that in the long run it would be more costly to a state's economy to have to pay for the people who go to the hospital but cannot afford to pay their bill, than it would be to expand Medicaid coverage under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act.  PBS NewsHour Correspondent Betty Ann Bowser takes a look at the arguments made by those governors opposed to expanding Medicaid within their states.   


You may be someone who agrees with Obama-Care or you may not like it... but, please don't forget, as the ideologically driven debates continue, that there are real people whose lives could be touched and dramatically improved by each governor putting into effect and practice the provision that calls for the expansion of Medicaid.  Be an advocate and a voice for the voiceless...