Your comment made me feel just wonderful! You "hit the nail on the head" - I want this blog to say to the reader what IS important to me IS important to you as well. I was hoping someone would feel that way - actually I am hoping everyone feels that way. But that is my Utopia. Anyway, I am happy to have you here, reading my blog and leaving comments. I hope you will subscribe and keep sending me your thoughts, comments and suggestions..

Have a wonderful day,
Cathy

I am new at blogging and don't have a newsletter. Between writing my blog and writing for another health website (HealthCentral.com) I have to stick to a strict schedule just to get my finished work done on time. But thanks for the thought. Perhaps someday soon I'll be able to publish some sort of newsletter.

Have a wonderful day,
Cathy

Thank you for airing your viewpoint.

There are many different views on ACA, with many different facts, figures and information surrounding it. Whether we agree or disagree - in this great country of ours - there should be a continuous dialogue where people like us with a chronic illness, and for all Americans, to share our viewpoints.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/04/doctors_feeling_obamas_crushing_health_care_policies.html

I personally am very much opposed to the ACA. I believe it is certain to result in more expensive, lower quality, less available care for the majority of Americans. It will be particularly harsh on the elderly and people like myself, with chronic illnesses. There will be some who benefit, but they are a small minority.

One thing I can't understand, is why anyone would want an entity that is 16+ Trillion in debt, that runs trillion $ annual deficits and that is notorious for waste and corruption to be in charge of their health care. Some even want the Federal government to be solely responsible for health care. Astonishingly, for some, this is their #1 issue. If a private insurer had the same record as the Federal government, they would be out of business, because no one would do business with them. Literally no one.

Let me begin by thanking you for taking the time to address the issues involved in The Affordable Care Act and voicing your opinions. Your professional point of view is greatly appreciated, particularly regarding the "solution" you mention in the case of Medicaid/CHIP in the State of Texas. Although we disagree on certain elements of your statement, I do worry about the sole power lying in the hands of HHS - this can never be a good thing.

I hope we, and other readers, can continue to have a constructive and meaningful discussion about ACA as we get closer to June and The Supreme Court's final decision.

Best,
Cathy

What are the outcomes then, of such over-governance, Federal involvement in our daily lives? The facts all point to the creation of a large dependent class of citizenry. At this time almost 50% of the eligible public do not pay federal income tax and soon, they will become a majority.

When this dependency subsumes American medicine, the control of patient care and choice no longer belongs to the physician and the patient; it becomes the domain of the Federal Government. I have practiced Family Medicine in Canada and have been a Clinical Instructor in Orthopedic Surgery in Great Britain. In both instances I have seen what a centrally controlled healthcare system has done to patient care and patient control of their own health. The United States is embarking upon the same path as those well-intentioned countries but with a much larger, more medically complex and violent culture and population.

The issue of an imposed inclusion of contraception and seventy plus other mandated unfunded healthcare treatments is just the beginning of a progressive, underfunded Federal control of our healthcare that fully flowers in 2014. The result: increased costs of private sector healthcare insurance that will drive everyone to that provided by government. That you can keep the insurance you have is now being shown to be a de facto false statement. Any private healthcare insurance policy that does not include these unfunded mandated treatments will be illegal regardless of the cost or who pays for it.

Those amongst us, including the 1%, the upper middle, middle and working classes, the Productive Classes, who pay federal income tax, will soon be a minority and they are being mandated to pay for those who will soon be the dependent majority. When you say that dependent people can now "afford" healthcare, you dismiss this very critical factor.

Congress has created a healthcare law with no specifics that essentially transfers 1/6th of the GNP from the private sector to government control. It has created a vehicle whereby one person, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, has crushing power that goes far beyond the initial intent of providing healthcare to the 9 million people of this country who truly are uninsured.

The major concern should not be whether contraception is mandated but precisely who is going to pay for all of these government edicts at a time when we are facing ruinous debt as a Nation; the answer- you, and you and your children, your loved ones and parents will access fewer healthcare options as a result.

A possible solution? In 2009, the state of Texas spent $23.7B for Medicaid/CHIP or 6.5% of the $366.6B spent by the Federal government. If we gave a $15,000 per year voucher to the 9 million people who truly are uninsured in this country, the entitlement cost would come to $135B.

Do we spend 135B in 2012 dollars or more than 366.5B in 2009 dollars? I think Americans are smart enough to figure this out while preserving their freedom of choice.

Mitchell Brooks, M.D.
http://www.hotnationtalk.com
http://www.mitchellbrooksmd.com

Thanks for sharing your point of view. It is greatly appreciated!

Best,
Cathy

Thank you for your comments about The Affordable Care Act. I appreciate you taking the time to let us know how you feel, and what your convictions are. But, as I said before, I do not want to discuss politics in this blog. Your feelings about abortion and contraception are a widely contested debate, and as such extend through both the political and moral arena. I defend your right to your convictions and honor your position - that is the greatness of Freedom of Speech in America. I thank you for your point of view, and hope you will continue to keep in touch with An Empowered Spirit.

Best,
Cathy

I certainly share your ideals when it comes to goals for a health plan. But there are many ways to achieve affordable healthcare without forcing people to go against their own consciences. I can't stand behind Obamacare, especially as a Catholic, because it would force me to pay for abortion and contraception - two actions that harm the individual as well as society. Why would the president want us to pay for abortion and birth control? Because he wants votes the Planned Parenthood lobby can deliver. He would rather see Catholic hospitals, schools and extensive social services shut down than concede that forcing us to pay for these actions is wrong. We need to cover health services that heal - I'm all for that. Abortion and contraception don't heal anything...one ends a life, and the other either ends a life (in the case of abortifacients) or prevents a natural end of a human act. No one should have to be complicit in that.

The ACA is indeed a relevant issue to discuss. I hope the SCOTUS does not strike down the mandate. Though I am a proponent of single-payer national health insurance, I'm realistic enough to know this won't happen--so any new program that covers as many people as possible that also eliminates pre-existing condition denials is an important step to take. The argument that federal government mandates are unconstitutional and invasive doesn't hold water, IMHO, simply because there are many of them across the board that protect us and which remain unchallenged simply because they are not hot-button issues on the Hill.

I recently went on Medicare Part B and D and dropped BCBS coverage, mostly because my BCBS deductibles were so high that I have gone deeply in medical debt. Medicare deductibles are quite reasonable by comparison. I'm not sure how the ACA affects me at this point, but I am relieved to be on Medicare now and wish this program could someday be our national health insurance for everyone. Funding for a NHS could be accomplished in my opinion, but because it is such a highly-charged political issue, I doubt that such a major retooling of health care will happen in my lifetime.

Let's hope the mandate sticks and that the implementation of the ACA can go forward in the coming years.

Kim