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Originally Posted by demonrail666

I watched the vote last night. It was interesting the degree to which opposition to the reform seemed to transcend simple party political partisanship. It seems to have really divided America on a quite fundamental level, with some quite deeply felt objections being expressed that weren't, from what I could gather, just about sticking one on Obama. I don't know the real details of what the reform will mean but it's fascinating watching the whole issue unfold and how divisive it seems to be amongst so many Americans.

the reform is limited and went from "health care reform" to "health insurance reform" when hysterical yahoos began to cry "socialism!!" at the possibility of a government-sponsored option-- option! not mandatory for all! but hysteria is hysteria.

so a compromise had to be forged where health insurance is kept in private hands BUT it is regulated in new and stricter ways-- they used to conveniently drop you when you needed them the most, for example.

case in point: the wife of one of my professors got breast cancer. she had a fucking good policy, shared by all state employees. but she had a nasty form of cancer, which required very intense treatment. when the cost of her treatment reached a certain monetary limit, the insurance company said "sorry but we've covered enough and you pay for your future chemos now". she had to go to court (while ill) and make them pay. she survived-- the disease, and the insurance company.

the likes of rush limbaugh say that these are "sob stories" to fool people into "adopting socialism", but fuckit, the fuckers have been running rampant taking money from people and then fucking them (against their will, not in a sexy way) in the ass.

this adds protection also against "preexisting conditions"--e.g-- "oh, you had your appendix taken when you were 12, sorry, you are not eligible" or worse-- "sure, you have epilepsy, you can get insurance with us and we will pay for everything except your epilepsy". shit like that! outrageous!

finally, self-employed people like yours truly can now buy into large insurance pools and get themselves a good deal instead of the crud i'd been dealing with.

there are other things. but the insurance co.s are going to get their nuts in a fucking vise so that when they try to rape you it's going to hurt them.