Health Care Reform, not perfect, but…

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as health care reform, is slowly being implemented starting last September, 2010. As with any legislation, it is not perfect and upon closer inspection and reflection needs some adjustments to work as intended. The intention is to get affordable health care insurance to all Americans. The flaws in the legislation do not require a complete scrapping of the law. Health care reform is necessary to keep Americans healthy, keep America globally competitive and to reduce our overall health care expenditure in the future.

One of the first and most significant reforms of the PPACA was the requirement that all new health insurance plans offer preventive office visits at no charge. This one provision will save thousands of lives and untold millions of dollars. When you detect and treat illnesses early, survival rates increase and long term treatment costs decrease. Ultimately, preventive office visits will keep Americans healthy and more productive longer.

No cost preventive office visits means women will get routine screenings and dialog with their physician about breast cancer. Yearly physicals for children will reduce obesity and diabetes as the doctors discuss life style choices and eating habits with their patients. Men might actually see a doctor before they get sick. I am willing to pay a little more in my premium to make available early detection of breast cancer for all women and reduce childhood obesity.

There are lots of folks who thoroughly dislike health care reform for many different reasons. But tearing up a perfectly good foundation is ridiculous. When it comes to folks who want to repeal PPACA; follow the money. Most of my fellow health insurance agents ‘hate’ the new reforms because it has slashed commissions. Even though, we all know many more people will be brought into the system in 2014 because everyone will be mandated to have coverage. Other business interests dislike the health care provisions because it ‘might’ cost them some money and they will have to be more accountable in their actions.

A healthy America is a productive America. Medicare is working to keep our 65+ year old population healthy and productive. While I do not advocate a Medicare type program or subsidy for the back bone of America’s workforce, men and women raising families, an affordable health insurance system for the millions of people who work for small businesses that offer no coverage is no less a national security issue than crop subsidies to keep food prices low.

Let’s work together to fix the PPACA and not loose the important parts that have already started to keep Americans more healthy and productive by repealing the whole legislation.