Healthcare as a Matter of Life and Death in the US - Research Paper Example

Unpopular when first proposed and passed in 2010, the ACA has steadily gained acceptance since the Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the law last June. The disagreement is between two opposing ideologies. One that believes health care should be a commodity much like any other, you buy as much as you can afford and if you cannot afford it then do without. The other thinks all citizens are entitled to the bare essentials of life including food, shelter, clothing and healthcare. Before the ACA passed and was a still a bill trying to survive in Congress, legislators and the American public were locked in a contentious national debate that further divided a nation already deeply separated by a conflicting concept regarding the country’s ideological direction.

One side was frightened that “creeping socialism” was undermining the “American ideal.” They did not want European style governance claiming that the transformation would change the foundations of the country into something unrecognizable to them. The anti-healthcare faction went as far as to use groundless scare tactics such as saying Obamacare death panels would come for grandma after she became too unhealthy to justify paying for continuing care. This and other statements just as untruthful and outrageous were not found on radical, unknown blog posts but were spoken on the Senate steps by elected representatives in front of cameras and microphones.

The battle was tough even by Washington D.C. standards but was won and subsequently preserved by the Supreme Court and the November 6 election. Despite the rumors of death panels killing dear old Grandma, the AARP and AMA along with nearly every person or organization involved with health care delivery supported the ACA and for good reason. The law already forbids health insurance companies from dropping coverage if a policyholder becomes ill and discriminating on the basis of pre-existing conditions and age.