Repeal healthcare, really?

By Peter Fenn - 01/04/11 07:05 PM ET

We see the new members of the Republican freshman class (and most of them are “men”) just chafing at the bit to “repeal” the healthcare bill — lock, stock and barrel.

And the date they have chosen for this hysterical (as opposed to “historical”) vote? Next Wednesday, January 12 … Rush Limbaugh’s 60th birthday… how appropriate! A gimmick, a charade, political payback to the Tea Party — to be sure.

So they want to get rid of legislation that ends the insurance company practice of denying Americans health insurance because of pre-existing conditions? They want to continue the doughnut hole that discriminates against seniors? They want to prevent young people from being included on their parents’ insurance? They want to keep 33 million Americans without health insurance? They want to allow insurance companies to cap coverage so that sick people will have no recourse but to stop treatment? They want to add another $143 billion to our federal deficit over 10 years and a trillion dollars over 20 years? And, if this repeal passed, it would be the biggest job-killer in decades.

I have to admit that one new member of Congress truly astounded me by supporting repeal and then announcing that he wasn’t going to accept his congressional health plan. At first, it sounded somewhat courageous. But wait, his wife has a pre-existing condition and they will probably have to pay a great deal, if she can get coverage at all. Doesn’t the new healthcare law prevent denying coverage to people with such pre-existing conditions? Aren’t we seeing such discrimination right now stopped for children and later for adults? Why repeal the law if it does exactly what it should do for Americans like this new congressman and his family? What part of this doesn’t he understand? Shouldn’t he “get it,” being caught in this bind? Shouldn’t he be calling for precisely what this bill does?

My wife has a pre-existing condition — cancer — and fortunately she has the same health insurance she had prior to the diagnosis, the operation, chemo, radiation, and a clinical trial. If she had lost her job and tried to get re-insured, it would have been next to impossible. So, you might say, I feel rather strongly about this part of the healthcare law. But we are fortunate; we are the lucky ones. Others aren’t so lucky.

Our healthcare system was broken, costs were skyrocketing, our emergency rooms were filling with people who were uninsured and denied preventive care. This legislation puts us on the road to recovery. Just as Medicare came under attack in those early years, we see history repeating itself. If you have good constructive ideas to improve the legislation, fine, offer them up, but repeal is truly a fool’s errand.