Many of my patients are asking me what I think of “Obamacare”, aka, The Affordable Healthcare Act.

My initial response is to tell my patients that it’s not good for them. I begin by explaining that if the government wants to ensure that the estimated 30 million people without insurance were covered, that there were many ways to do that. Unfortunately, reality is that most of those individuals are NOT signing up for Obamacare, but, millions of people who were happy with their health insurance are being dropped from their plans because the government decided that the plans were not in compliance with the government rules. The President is being quoted as saying that the cost of health insurance on the exchanges is less than the cost of cell phone service! That may be true for those who are being subsidized (by all of us), but it is not true for most people who are finding that not only are the premiums higher, but the deductables are thousands of dollars higher that their old policies. Didn’t the President promise over and over that “if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. If you like your health insurance you can keep your health insurance”.

Health insurance companies are being jerked around by this President, because they have no idea what their costs will be. The President keeps using his executive authority to change the law, without congressional approval. This is not only illegal, but it results in instability in the health insurance market, because the insurance industry can’t forecast its costs when the President unilaterally changes the law, and shifts the cost to the insurers. Guess what they will do….rates go up, coverage goes down.

Not one doctor was consulted in drawing up this absurd government takeover of medicine. Worse, none of the politicians that voted for this plan even read it before voting on it! That in and of itself is reason to vote all of these clowns out of office.

I ask my patients if they have heard of the “Independent Payment Advisory Board” (IPAD). None of my patients have heard of it, yet is the heart of Obamacare. It is a board to be appointed by the administration comprising 15 people charged with determining what things are to be approved treatments. If you need an expensive drug, and the IPAD determined that it isn’t covered…tough for you. If you are older and they decide that a coronary bypass surgery isn’t covered, yet your doctor feels without it you may not survive…tough for you. The President was vocal about all the freebies he so quickly gave out when the plan commenced (e.g., no prior existing conditions, children…up to 26 years old….could stay on mom and dad’s insurance), but he doesn’t ever mention the IPAD. We will come to realize that Sara Palin was right when she spoke of “Death panels” in Obamacare.

I contend that this health plan robs us all of our liberty. It takes away our freedom, and allows the government to decide what we have to purchase. Big brother knows better than we do what is better for us. Who believes that it is ok for a government to take away our freedom? Why can’t a person decide on a no frills catastrophic health insurance policy that covers for disaster, but requires the individual to pay out of pocket for outpatient care?

Please share your thoughts in this blog. I enjoy hearing from all of you.