After months of haggling, the Health Care Reform bill has finally passed and President Barack Obama has actually signed it into law – with 20 pens no doubt.
I must admit, I never thought the bill would come to fruition. As a matter of fact, even after hearing several members of the Congressional Black Caucus tell me and other newspaper folks last week that the bill would pass, I was doubtful. After all, look at all the back and forth negotiating, criticism, and dissention that had already taken place.
I was hesitant to get my hopes up.
Of course that all changed this week. Because of this bill – I mean, law – all people will now have access to quality, affordable health care. It doesn’t get much better than that. Health care is a right, not a privilege, yet many people seemed to have lost sight of that underlying fact over the past several months. Health care is indeed a right. It’s a right that Americans, who happen to live in one of the richest nations in the world, should have had a long time ago. And it’s been a long time coming.
Never has success come without a movement and President Obama, his administration, members of Congress, and the American people had a strong, unified movement in support of health care reform. In advocating for such change, we fought a long, hard battle, but today it all feels worth it. It was the right thing to do.
Throughout this entire health care debate, I often thought of my mother, who passed away in 2002. While my mother had a good job with benefits, things changed when her health began to decline. Once mother was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, her insurance carrier dropped her because she was considered “high risk.” For years, I watched her spend a fortune on medical bills and prescription costs that seemingly skyrocketed month after month. It was a hard thing to endure.
Perhaps it was my youthfulness at the time or simply my naïveté, but I thought that because she worked hard her entire life and spent those years investing in insurance that was supposed to “protect” her in the event that her health failed – she was owed more. Not only did I feel she was owed more, she deserved more.
Sadly, my mother, like countless other Americans, got the short end of the stick. They were taken advantage of and discarded by a system they contributed to; a system that has been filled with greed and callousness for years; an ineffective and unfair system; a system that has failed millions.
Perhaps my mother’s experience and those of others I know of who endured the same treatment led to my reluctance in believing that health care reform would pass. Perhaps their situations caused me to be doubtful, even though in my heart of hearts, I wanted it be optimistic. You know what people always say: “Expect little so not to get disappointed.”
Nonetheless, I’m glad the bill passed. This was a monumental feat that Obama accomplished. It will truly define his presidency.
There was once a time when Black people never purchased health insurance. Instead they deemed it more appropriate to purchase burial insurance. These people were not preparing to live, they were preparing to die. This is such a sad, but true statement. Our people prepared to die before they prepared to live.
With the passage of the Health Care Reform bill, all Americans can now prepare to live. We can prepare to live quality lives, with access to quality health care.
It’s important to note, however, that each of us have to take responsibility for ourselves and our children. Although we’ll have affordable health care, prevention is still key.
It’s our responsibility to take the necessary precautions to ensure that we lead healthy lives. This means exercising regularly, eating more fruits and vegetables, and eliminating behaviors that are reckless – including smoking, excessive drinking, and drug usage.
We have to change our mentality. Let’s prepare to live.
