Right Mom/Left Mom: “Obamacare!”

Posted on August 29, 2012 by elizabeth

Here is our 3rd episode where Kristen and I discuss Obamacare. What are your thoughts? Do you think Obamacare will effectively reform our healthcare system? Also, if you’d like us to discuss a particular issue, leave a comment!

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  • Susan

    My concern about ObamaCare is about quality of care. I lived in Portugal for 11 years, and people without private insurance received poor health care. Doctors were required to “donate” a certain amount of hours working in the clinics, and the people going to those clinics waited years sometimes to get help with serious health issues. Human nature being what it is, I can’t see that it would be very different in this country. The cost of being a doctor in this litigation happy country has already taken a toll in the medical field. How will ObamaCare deal with this?

  • Handsfull

    I live in New Zealand, so don’t know about the details of Obamacare, but have always been horrified at the American system of health care for those who can afford it, and either becoming bankrupt or no care at all for those who can’t. I just don’t understand why it should be such a big deal – if people can’t afford health insurance, OF COURSE the government should pay! Why is that even in question?
    New Zealanders have basically free health care for all. Some things you do have to pay for, like GP visits, but even those are free for children under 6. If you also want to have health insurance, you can, and you will get quicker care by going with private health care providers, but most of the population either don’t have health insurance or do have it, but only use it for things that aren’t funded (like dentistry) or procedures where there are waiting lists (like hip replacements). Generally speaking, if a doctor has ordered a test or procedure, it’s free.
    And as for the American government not paying for health care because the budget won’t balance… when was the last time the budget balanced? :)

    • Anonymous

      The last time it was balanced was under Bill Clinton, who balanced it four years in a row while trying to get universal healthcare approved the whole time he was in office :) for the sake of trivia, that was the last time it was balanced!

  • Ellie

    Well, I’d like to have health insurance, let’s put it that way. I’m disabled from a brain tumor, do not have insurance, and there are probably two more years to go before I’ll have social security disability and insurance (because that’s how long the system takes). This new health insurance system would be lovely — if only my governor would impliment it. Right now he’s threatening not to. **gloomy** Which means the poorest and most needy in my state will continue to not have insurance.

  • Andrew Carmichael

    Good discussion of an important topic. If only we could have such a rational debate in the larger public arena.

    I must say that I’m with Kristen. I’m not convinced that Obamacare goes far enough, but it’s better than sticking with the broken system we have now. And as she points out, for most Americans it really will change very little and for a few it will make a significantly positive contribution. So what’s the beef the conservatives have with it, just that government is mandating something? I have yet to hear a better proposal from them.

  • http://twitter.com/lilysea Shannon LC Cate

    What a fabulous idea (Right Mom/Left Mom, I mean, not necessarily Obamacare–I’m with Kristen, I wish it had been single-payer). But this is so very, very sane and informative.