Bill

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Healthcare Articles are a Weapon against the Insanity

Albert Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. And that might be the very definition of the latest attempt by Republicans in the House of Representatives to repeal/ “defund” the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. These Congressional Republicans have threatened to shut down the government and risk a default unless Congress eliminates all of the financing for the law, effectively killing it.

healthcare-group

But this post isn’t about Washington insanity, but rather about the great thing that the local newspaper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC)  is doing this week. They are publishing all this week information about the law and its impact on Georgians. There’s no rhetoric, no politics – just facts. Whether you support the law or not, people do need information about their options and the AJC has stepped up.

You see, here in the state of Georgia, the Republican Governor, Nathan Deal, has refused to expand Medicaid to cover 650,000 uninsured citizens, even though the law would have reimbursed the state 100% of the cost of expansion. The state Insurance Commissioner, Ralph Hudgens, has vowed to do “…everything in our power to be an obstructionist.” And the Commissioner has been true to his word.  His office has not set up any local healthcare exchanges like Kentucky, Colorado, California or other states have, but is rather relying on Feds to build their exchanges. This is a problem for Georgians because nearly 20% of the state’s population is uninsured and immediately affected by the new law on 1 October, but knows very little about it.

In a poll conducted by the AJC during the week of 12-17 September, interviewed Georgians said:

  • 71% favored allowing children to stay on their parent’s health insurance plan until they turned 26.
  • 66% favored requiring health insurance companies to provide insurance to anyone who applies, regardless of pre-existing conditions.
  • 56% favored limiting the amount health insurance companies can charge older people.

All of these things, which Georgians prefer, are in Obamacare, yet 28% want the entire law repealed while only 45% would prefer the law go into effect and see what happens before deciding what should be done. So it would appear that Commissioner Hudgens has done his job in confusing Georgians relative to the benefits of the new law.

But I have to ask the Commissioner two questions as he continues his obsession with making it difficult for Georgians to get affordable healthcare:

Why is it important to you that people with pre-existing conditions not get health insurance?

Why is it important to you that health insurance companies to have the ability to cancel your insurance if you, your spouse or child become sick and need expensive medical care?

The Commissioner won’t have any answers to these questions, but I appreciate that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is displaying the leadership necessary to ensure all Georgians are aware of their options under the healthcare law. The link for the AJC article and poll is here (be warned that the online AJC is subscription based). There is a real difference between Obamacare as a right-wing Republican bogeyman and the Affordable Care Act as a reality. I’m glad the AJC is helping Georgians discern that difference.