Weighing in on Healthcare Reform Bill

Well despite the excitement of some and the dismay of others, the long awaited answer is clear: our elected officials have passed the Healthcare Reform Bill being so blatantly pushed by our esteemed 44th President Barack Obama. Take that last phrase as you may, I am not really sure how I feel about writing it.

Well of course everyone has their opinions and they are usually directly influenced by how the bill will affect them and those they love. Well the same holds true for me and I think I can safely speak for the recently and not so recently unemployed community.

The best summary I have found and I am going to reference to base my breakdown on is from CBSNews.com .

Right now the current U.S. Deficit is at 12 TRILLION dollars, and this bill is only going to reduce it by 130 billion dollars over a 10 year span of time. Now wishing I had even 1% of that, and cannot actually even fathom that amount of money, it logically seems in normal persons money that is the equivalent of having 12 million dollars of debt and throwing 130,000 dollars at it - over a period of 10 years. I don't even think Suze Orman would call that effective. And seeing as that it is increasing by 4 billion dollars a day, I think its safe to say the U.S. might need to take stronger measures - like cutting spending - like regular people do to save money... and no more daily trips to Starbucks.

Ok to get to the meat and potatoes of the bill -

This bill was designed to expand coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured. 
Well actually that sounds alot nicer than it actually is - while it sounds like 32 million Americans will automatically receive coverage - that is not the case. I am pretty sure that is the general assumption with those Americans that thought this bill was the answer to their prayers and Obama is their savior. However this bill just actually ALLOWS Americans who are not able to obtain health insurance through traditional means such as employers to have the availability to purchase health care and it be more accessible. Historically, health insurance without assistance from employers (meaning employers cover a portion of the fees) was so expensive it was not obtainable for ordinary families. This portion of the bill was designed to help those families make it more affordable.