Lance, I think we're going to have to agree to disagree! I'll state right up front that I'm a Boston-area liberal and save you the task of having to lambaste me later! LOL!! The good news is that I agree with you that our government cannot legislate healthy behavior, but I am a proponent of preventive care, and do see firsthand what happens when people go without healthcare. They wait until the last possible moment, and then it costs everyone much more than it would have if they'd asked for treatment earlier on. We all pay for it one way or another, when hospitals are forced to increase prices to pay for the uninsured. We also paid higher premiums to insurance companies who fully covered the preventable illnesses, while ignoring coverage for preventive care. Doesn't make sense. If you think about it, we already tax certain behaviors with the cigarette and ETOH taxes. I'm not saying we should penalize people with cancer, but if individuals can't take better care of themselves, where does it become my responsibility to ante up so that they can continue to neglect their health? That's probably a right-wing attitude, isn't it?
Sorry....that's a significant thorn in my side, and probably the biggest reason I support PPACA. Besides, what's wrong with not following meaningful use and PQRS? Who wants to be treated by a physician who can't follow quality measures? Not me. The act does address the shortage of primary care docs, with incentives for GME programs, which is currently sorely lacking and one of the biggest reasons docs choose the specialties (that and the reimbursement, which is also addressed in the Act.)
The Act is not without it's issues, and I am sure we'll all be impacted (both positively and negatively) but overall I think we're headed in the direction of reform, and I'd rather see some changes now, rather than later. I'm hoping that Brandi Tadlock will post her article "Obamacare 101" on this board. (I'll email her). She did a fabulous job of summarizing the 900+ page plan, in plain English....both the good and not-so-good. My complaint over the past few months is that so many people are ranting about this act without even fully understanding what it means, and taking their information solely from news reports....Fox, NBC, CBS. In my mind, PBS has done a much better job of presenting this issue in an unbiased manner, as has the BBC. It's not perfect, but it's not all bad, and frankly it's inevitable. As medical professionals, we can put a positive spin on this. The more people who are insured, the more they will seek healthcare and the more work we'll have! I'm not above stating my own personal agenda, here
Mostly, I'm proud that the Supreme Court didn't play partisan politics.