While the Supreme Court wraps up its hearings on ObamaCare, the birth control debate rages on, especially on the letters pages of the Albuquerque Journal. I previously blogged about the issue here, but the controversial nature of the issue could be mitigated significantly if our health care system was not so poorly designed.
By accident, the US has a third party payment system that I have called the “original sin” of US health care. It resulted from wage and price controls during WW II and created a system under which patients are not in charge of purchasing their own health care and health insurance.
The fact that we don’t pay for our health care is the biggest single factor that has driven costs up over the last several decades. It has also led to the attitude that we should get things “for free” in health care (like birth control). However, I understand the frustration that proponents of birth control coverage have over the lack of control in choosing a health care plan that covers what they want. After all, the beneficiaries of “free” birth control are likely young people who hardly use other aspects of their health insurance plans…shouldn’t they get something?
Interestingly enough, the individual mandate in ObamaCare will only further pile the costs of health care on young, healthy people of both sexes. This will make the “benefit” of “free” birth control look trivial by comparison.
I see that Gessing uses the strategy that conservative journalists rely on for inserting what passes for facts into their articles: he guesses. He guesses that people who use birth control are young people who hardly need to go to the doctor for anything else. This would be a bad guess. People, single and married, of all ages, use birth control for numerous reasons. But conservatives don’t let facts get in the way of good propaganda, so I don’t know why I’m bothering…
And, when did health care become free? Gessing says we don’t pay for our health care? “Free birth control,” and so on? This is news to me. We have free medical care in America? Praise Jesus! We have finally come to our senses and caught up with every other civilized country in the entire world.
Unfortunately, no.
GUessing, you have it wrong. The young lady who testified in DC didn’t want free birth control. What people want is for birth control to be included in the medical plan that they pay for. You know, like viagra is included in medical plans – because erectile dysfunction is a medical condition? But the medical conditions that women take birth control for – those conditions are somehow unworthy of consideration?
Why don’t you put the republican motto on your bumper stickers this year: America – where you are free. To die. Screw yourself. Vote republican 2012.
Conservatives, I beg you, please, for the love of God, continue the war on women. It’s helping the democrats in more ways than you know.
Repeated articles all over the Internet (like this one), not from conservative sources, state clearly that the birth control is “free” under ObamaCare. Also, I’m not saying that we don’t pay for our health care currently, but that we have been accustomed to insurance picking up a bulk of the costs. There is nothing like price competition in American health care.
C. Frank is obviously taking drugs besides Viagra and birth control pills.
Paul, his rant is illogical and you shouldn’t attempt to reason with him.
Cheers.
John
Birth control at all ages? Really? I haven’t heard of anyone over 50 needing it. And the comment about that woman not wanting free birth control is bunk. She DOES want free birth control. And by the way, if she is having so much sex she needs thousands of dollars of FREE birth control, when does she have enough time to be a “law student”???? Of course, since the person who held the hearing is Nancy Pelosi, a fraud, the “witness” she called is a fraud too.