Versión Español
By Michelle Liberman
Providing “free” health care to people sounds good,
just like free anything would sound enticing. But
nothing in life is free, and Obamacare just proves
that in order for some people to get something for free
they have to take from me!
For the last six months I have been getting all kinds of letters in the mail concerning my health care, which has caused me a roller coaster of emotions. First, I was told my premiums would be going up because of Obamacare. Then I was told it was going up some more because of Obamacare. Then I was told my plan was cancelled because of Obamacare. Then I was told my plan has been reinstated but will be different because of Obamacare. Then I was told my premiums would go down because of Obamacare. Then I was received the actual bill, which was nowhere near the premium that the last letter said it would be (it’s more).
The latest letter came yesterday. And I. Am. Angry. The rest of us should be too, since I don’t think I’m alone in this plight.
Here’s what Anthem Blue Cross wrote to me:
You’ve probably been hearing a lot about changes to health coverage that the health care reform law [Obamacare] has been making. [Um, yeah! You keep sending me letters, and there’s the news]. But did you know it’s also making some changes for dental care? [Of course it is.]
The ACA [Obamacare] calls for coverage of certain dental services for children as one of 10 required “essential health benefits” that everyone, no matter your age, gender, or if you have children, is required to purchase. [Required? In this free land of ours?] Starting on January 1, 2014, individual and small group health plans must include all 10 essential health benefits. That means members will have health plans that include coverage for pediatric dental services.… We’ve enrolled you [gee, thanks, you shouldn’t have] and your dependents, if any, in our Dental Pediatric Essential Health Benefits plan… [emphasis mine].
I am single. I do not have children. I do not use birth control. I do not use psychological services (therapy). I don’t use any of the “10 essential health benefits” that our government is now forcing me to pay for.
I don’t know if I’ll ever have children, but if I do, I think I should pay for them myself, not make others foot the bill. But now, with Obamacare, I am forced to pay for someone else’s children to have pediatric dental care. I don’t even have dental care for myself! I can’t afford it. I am forced to pay for someone else to have birth control. I am forced to pay for someone else to go to therapy.
I am not rich. I do not even have a job right now. I take responsibility for myself. Friends and family may help me in times of need, as I would help them in their times of need. I do not take handouts or unemployment from the government. I figure out how to pay my own bills without asking for a handout from the government.
In order for the government to give me money they have to take money from other US Americans. And that’s not fair. People should be able to keep the money they earn through their work — not be forced to give it to me. And I, you, and all of us should be allowed the same respect and freedom.
I know there are people who will argue that we need to help those who are down or going through hard times, and I agree, but that should always be voluntary, not forced. We have very successful charities, churches, and individuals who provide that kind of aid.
Welfare, on the other hand, only encourages people not to work. But this is not the article for that debate. And I won’t go to into depth on this other topic either because it is for a different article, but our economy is botched and unemployment is high because of the taxes, regulations, and interference from our government. Government claims to “take care of things to help us,” but I encourage you to learn a little about Austrian economics to recognize that we wouldn’t need so much “aid” and fewer US Americans would be unemployed and struggling if it were not for these broken policies coming out of Washington, D.C., in the first place.
Experience and history have shown that the most successful economies in the world are always the ones with economic freedom from the government. The United States, for the first 150 years, was a great example of that. Not so much anymore.
Our economy is a natural result made up of the buying and selling actions of all individuals in our society. It is not something that can be controlled by a group of people called government. The economy is completely separate from politics and our government, but our politicians pretend like they have the ability to control the economy so they can use it as an issue to be voted into office. They make promises about increasing jobs when they have no power to increase jobs (except government jobs which hurt rather than help the economy), except to stay out of the market and allow the free market to work itself out.
They like to pretend they have control, too, because it’s also another way for them to get their hands on our money, by claiming that the economy is actually theirs to control and they tax and print money in the name of “helping the economy.” No! It’s not true.
I have a problem with Obamacare. I have a problem with the fact that it infringes on a basic right of freedom — the right to choose if you want something or not. I have a problem with the fact that our president and his administration have been lying straight to our faces for years about this bill. I have a problem that this bill contains so many other provisions that gives our government more power, along spending power that has nothing to do with health care. I have a problem with the fact that Obamacare will provide bailouts to the insurance companies when they don’t make a profit (and they won’t be able to make a profit with the unsustainable design of Obamacare. How can you give everything to everyone without raising costs of everything hugely? You can’t.)
I have a problem with the reality that I have no control over my own health insurance anymore. The company or the government is signing me up for things that I have no desire to be signed up for. I have a problem that the government has made it “legal” for them to do criminal activities like take more money from me to distribute to others and to force me to buy something I do not want to buy, or they will fine me. This is not freedom.
I should be allowed to purchase the health care that only covers the things I want to cover for my own life. It is, after all, my health insurance. I am angry and getting angrier.
This president refuses to repeal a broken law and a broken website because he wants to save face for his “signature” legislation. We all must suffer for his ego. How very presidential of him.
And he and the other cronies in Washington, D.C., are not even subject to Obamacare. Who do they think they are? Elitists above the average US American? Apparently, that’s exactly who they think they are. For a government claiming to look out for the little guy and claiming to want to take care of the average American, this Democratic legislation has seriously missed it’s mark.
Michelle Liberman is the Freedom Friend, your girlfriend who can talk about economics, freedom, and government like it’s coffee shop girl talk (@FreedomGirlUSA). An actress and model, she provides articles, videos, and recommended reading to better understand how our daily lives are directly affected by government and the economy. This article first appeared on the Freedom Friend.
