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Summing Up the Health Care Debate With Three Famous Quotes

Michael Bihari, MD

May 2012
Editorial

In the movie All About Eve, Bette Davis uttered one of the most famous lines in movie history, “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” Given that this is an election year and the health reform legislation passed by Congress in 2010 remains controversial, we can be sure it’s going to be a very bumpy campaign. With famous quotes in mind, here are some thoughts about the debate.

“But, for my own part, it was Greek to me.” This quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar could easily apply to the 2,000+ page Affordable Care Act, which will not be fully implemented until 2014—unless struck down by the Supreme Court. Many people don’t understand the law and how it may apply to their own situation. I give a lot of talks in my community about our health care system and whenever I mention health reform, people break out in hives or start threatening the messenger.

However, if I don’t mention the words “health reform” or “ObamaCare” but simply explain some of the main tenets of the legislation, people relax and think the ideas are great, especially restrictions on health insurance company abuses. Obviously something has been lost in translation.

“A rose is a rose is a rose.” I’m sure Gertrude Stein did not have health care reform in mind when she penned these words. However, this phrase is relevant to the current debate.

What do the following statements have in common?
• The government mandates that everyone has health insurance or pay a penalty.
• Everyone has the opportunity to purchase private health insurance from markets known as “exchanges.”
• People with limited incomes can receive government subsidies to help pay insurance premiums.
• Health insurance companies ....

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