In case you missed it, this week marked the 1st year anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act. The last 365 have been like going back to freshman year of high school all over again. Back then you expected the work would be much harder, the girls much prettier, and the parties that much better. However, the reality set in: the work was relative; girls same as last year; and the parties overrated.

And so goes the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Some people love it, others hate it. A big part of the problem is the Obama Administration’s failure at packaging this farm of a law into a user-friendly message that everyone gets. This has a disturbingly high number of folks still not knowing what it is — and chances are they felt that way last year too.

Roughly over half of states have joined together in an ‘Amazing Race‘ to the courthouse to strike down the law. In Florida, federal judge Roger Vinson ruled the individual mandate in the Act, which requires citizens to either purchase health insurance or pay a fee, unconstitutional. In fact, that’s what the law’s critics are banking on: the mandate being a legislative overreach that leads to repeal.

The New York Times reported that Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine voted against the health care overhaul. Back in fall, she was the only Republican to vote for the bill in committee.

If the Public Option is anything like what I experienced yesterday at the DMV (which I suspect), please call the insane asylum.Yesterday, I had to update my driver’s license. A pragmatic, streamliner like me figured that I would be in and out of the DMV in no more than twenty minutes. I would go in, update my address, give the camera a nice face to photograph (lol), and then return back to work. Well so much for dreaming.

And like the public university system, when the government, which will be responsible for setting the price of care (as it sets the price of education at public schools), limits its financial commitment the institution must respond by raising its price and/or cutting and rationing its services.

Joe Wilson in my view, doesn’t matter. We should have not paid attention to him, instead, focusing on how best to solve the issue of health care. But we live in a world where politics and entertainment rules, and so we focus on some unknown representative from South Carolina.

I heard most the President’s speech tonight over the radio. Here are some of what I thought were highlights and what I thought.

It seems that now I am truly opposed to the health reform that the Congress of the United States of America seems to be considering, what the democrats seem to be considering. I am going to present to you, my reader, some examples straight from the major health bill as to why this reform cannot occur in the way that this congress has written, and why it is more of a negative impact on this country than a positive one. First of all, for all of you who see a public option as “free health care,” lets get that phrase out of your mind. When money does not exist, then that phrase will be possible.

The big issue now is health care reform. The more President Obama makes his case for government overhaul, the more resistance he faces from the American people. More than 86% of Americans are satisfied with their health care and more people are opposed to government interference. Does there need to be health care reform? No doubt. Health care reform needs to be made without endangering the private sector or state rights. The White House and Congress needs to listen to the voices of employers and small business owners who are in danger of falling victim to the governments demands. Employers could be faced with the devastating option of decreasing benefits to the employees or increasing the cost. With the government overhaul, the risk that taxpayers face is that the quality of health care will not totally be sufficient. If the government really wants health care reform, once again, they need to listen to the voices of the people.

Whether you agree with health care reform or not, understand what your Senator and Congressional representative is signing.
H.R.3200 – America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009

Back in 2005, President Bush tried to reform Social Security. I don’t know if his partial privatization plan was the best, but at least he was acknowledging there was a problem with Social Security. Democrats, opposed to privatization, fought back against any reform by saying “there was no crisis.”

In the concern over health care reform this year, many Republicans and conservatives are basically saying the same thing about health care in the United States: there is no crisis.