Like most I read the headlines, watch the news, and listen to talk
radio, but I constantly feel shortchanged with the depth these media outlets go into when they present their arguments. I want to go deeper, I want to go beyond ideological talking points and understand what is good about this bill and what has got so many upset about it.
I decided I was going to sit down and read the bill, which if you haven't heard is a monstrous 2000+ pages. I will confess that I only made it through the first 250 or so pages, but gladly that first Division is where most of the bill was laid out. I have moved on to reading other reviews of the bill as well as books written by physicians. In addition, I have been blessed to know a few physicians well enough to get their opinions on the mysterious world of patient billing. The first posts are going to be my attempt to break it down in manageable chunks so that we all can make sense of it. I am hoping to achieve a few outcomes for both you and me by the time I get through it.
The first is to make the law tangible. We are bombarded with opinions from all over. People who take one specific sections of the bill and call it unconstitutional or illegal. Rarely is the bill ever addressed as a whole. There is plenty to debate in it, but what about the other items that are not hot button issues? The more we know about this bill then the better we are able to decide how important some of these debatable points are to the whole scheme of things.
Second is to provide perspective for understanding the opinions heard in the media. For example, pundits talk about, "another giant government bureaucracy," but how big? How powerful? The bill says it all.
Third is to act as a resource to uplift our own political debates. Lets debate about specifics. For example did you know that people making up to 400% of the poverty level ($80,000) are eligible for health care premium credits.
Click on the "Breaking down the Bill" Tab to get started!
Second is to provide perspective for understanding the opinions heard in the media. For example, pundits talk about, "another giant government bureaucracy," but how big? How powerful? The bill says it all.
Third is to act as a resource to uplift our own political debates. Lets debate about specifics. For example did you know that people making up to 400% of the poverty level ($80,000) are eligible for health care premium credits.
Click on the "Breaking down the Bill" Tab to get started!