It is my opinion that in a wealthy nation such as the United States, it is immoral to allow someone to die without receiving needed medical services, because he or she does not have an insurance card.

But then maybe that is just me.

The apparent decline of vitriolic Republican attacks on the Affordable Care Act may be the best indication that it is working. What puzzles me is that some Democratic candidates are apparently avoiding the Affordable Care Act as a campaign issue. After well-publicized malfunctions at the implementation of the health insurance exchanges a year ago, the Affordable Care Act has been largely ignored by the news media. Millions of previously uninsured hard working Americans, including myself, now have health insurance. The Affordable Care Act works.

Anyone who has been involved in a large innovative construction project knows that no matter how much detailed pre-planning has occurred, blueprints must be changed, wires and pipes must be field run and then documented, and that significant modifications must be implemented after the structure is tested and put into operation. Welcome to the real world. This is especially true in a large administrative program where Democratic senators made excessive compromises with Republicans who never intended to vote for the Affordable Care Act.

Major revisions need to be made and will be made by a Democratic controlled House of Representatives and Senate, which should include removal of tax penalties on citizens who, for some reason or another, insist on not having health insurance for themselves and their families.

 

Francois Duchesneau

Cassopolis