INS IDE SCOOP


BUCKLE UP, OBAMACARE IS HERE


BYNATALIEGOCHNOUR Contributing Writer


Many of the


most critical com- ponents of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, other- wise known as Obamacare, have begun. Mandates


for coverage, the end of pre-existing condi- tions, a community rating and richer subsi- dies take effect next year. As we move clos- er to 2014, many Utahns and Utah busi- nesses sense the mighty change. I’m telling people to buckle up—one of the largest social policy changes in our lifetime is here. Over the past few years, I’ve collected


several quotes about the Affordable Care Act that are helpful in explaining what it is and how it affects us. Here are the quotes along with my commentary:


“Keep your government hands off my Medicare.”


This classic statement was spoken at a


town hall meeting in South Carolina dur- ing the 2010 election cycle. It’s as unbeliev- able as it is funny. The misunderstanding is also a serious problem. Many people in this country don’t have


the slightest idea how our healthcare sys- tem is financed. Medicare is government. So is Medicaid, the Indian Health Service, the Veterans Health Administration, Children’s Health Insurance Program and all of the research provided by the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health. In fact, nearly half of our nation’s healthcare expenditures come from the public sector, a proportion that is growing every day.


22 UTAH TRUCKING ~ Issue 5, 2013


We may not like government, but we


have a lot of it. Americans need to improve their understanding of healthcare financ- ing so we can fix it.


“The Affordable Care Act is an oxymoron and we all know who the moron is.”


The joke is clever, but not cool. That’s


the president of our country you’re talking about. On the other hand, shame on the president and other Democrats for not cre- ating a more balanced piece of legislation while in control. Not a single Republican crossed over in support. Obamacare, a title that both supporters and opponents of the law now call it, is divisive. To date, the U.S. House of Representatives has repealed the law 37 times. These are the ways of Washington, D.C. in an age of division. We need more problem-solving and civility within the beltway.


“The future of the American economy lies in the hands of doctors.”


I concur with this statement made by


healthcare policy expert Zeke Emanuel. Approximately half of all healthcare expen- ditures provide no value. The key to con- taining costs and strengthening the Utah economy is for doctors to make correct decisions. But the incentives are all wrong. Doctors are motivated to provide lots of


care—medical liability, fee-for-service, self-referral and patient expectations all lead to excessive care, sometimes to a patient’s detriment. At the same time, patients lack information and spend other people’s money. No wonder we over con- sume; people respond to incentives. Very little in Obamacare changes this.


The focus is access, not cost control. We’ve put more people inside a very expensive and broken vessel. I’m certain healthcare reform will require many mid-course cor- rections in the years ahead.


“We can have a hard decade or a bad century.”


This Thomas Friedman quote says it all.


Our healthcare system must change. It requires sacrifice in the short term (that’s the hard decade part) so we avoid even


www.utahtrucking.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28