Readers of the latest Money magazine get a reminder that the far-reaching federal health-care reform legislation does little to address many of the issues that prompted support for reform among many voters/
Online you can find Money?s answers to several questions. I couldn?t find online Amanda Gengler?s short preface to those answers:
The promise of health reform is that the sweeping changes coming to the nation?s health system will help resolve the most pressing problems you face getting quality medical care at a price you can afford. No more worrying about how to get health insurance if you lose your job. So long to premiums and out-of-pocket costs spinning out of control. Adios to coverage exclusions for preexisting conditions, from asthma to heart disease.
Well, not so fast. For starters, many of the provisions in the new law aren?t slated to kick in until 2014, so you?ll have to wait a few years for much of the relief that reform will provide. What?s more, while the new law does a lot to ensure access to medical care, it makes a far more modest start at wrestling down the runaway health care costs that cause the worst pain for Americans.
That means it?s still largely up to you to make smart decisions to ensure your family gets top-notch care without breaking your budget.
If an observer who supports ObamaCare identifies these flaws and omissions, imagine the problems a skeptic might find.
If it?s ?still largely up to you to make smart decisions,? might it not be better to allow you to make even more decisions ? through consumer-driven health care?