Here's my opinions on a controversial issue...

I know I'm about to ask for it with this post, but I'm throwing my opinion in on the health care law. My view on it is based on several positions.

One, as a consumer: I have been unemployed for over a year and uninsured. In Texas, insurance is a limited option. If you don't have a policy through your employer, your only options are purchasing a private policy, which is very high with only a few companies to choose from, get on the county program you qualify for (which can lead to changing doctors and driving moderate to long distances to the nearest clinic) or trying to qualify for medicaid. Unfortunately qualifying for assistance is practically impossible (See my post about medicaid). I also have chronic illnesses, which until now, excluded me from private insurances. I also have a daughter with autism. So, I do support the policy of getting rid of preexisting conditions. I also agree with the ability to keep my daughter on mine or my husband's insurance until she's twenty-six.

From another standpoint: I used to work in the medical field. So I got to see things from a different standpoint. I got to see how little the doctors got paid by the insurance companies. I also saw the bureaucratic nightmare that is created by the policies themselves. It makes it difficult to provide appropriate care for patients.

I feel that the entire insurance industry needs to be revamped. Payments to doctors need to be regulated and brought into accordance to standard prices. In other words, quit paying doctors under market value. The money that these companies earn from premiums and other forms of profit should be reorganized. That's why I like the stipulation that a certain percentage of all profit in the company must be paid toward patient care.

I also like the idea of insurance exchanges. I like the idea that I could shop for insurance and get the same rates as people in other states.

I know the law has a great deal of work that needs to be done to make it efficient and workable. I'm not saying it's perfect. But I have felt for a long time now that something needs to be changed in regards to healthcare. I have never felt that in this country, that so many people should be without basic healthcare while insurance companies among other companies get richer and richer. I feel that it's time these companies give back to the people who built them up in the first place. I just hope this law can be worked out, streamlined and efficiently put in place to allow everyone in this country to quality healthcare for a REASONABLE price.