The Affordable Care Act was designed specifically to help people such as those we saw on the video.  People end up bankrupt, working dead end jobs, or even dying as a result of the poor healthcare this country offers.  Working in the Medicaid office I have people come in here every day to apply.  If you are not a US citizen, under the age of 19, or pregnant, you are out of luck.  “What am I supposed to do?”, they ask me.  All I can do is refer them to the new FFM (the marketplace), and hope they find something there.

Unfortunately it is too late for some of those people we saw on the video, such as Nicky, the young woman with lupus.  With the implementation of the ACA, she would have been able to continue under her parents’ insurance until the age of 26 instead of being kicked off after she graduated from college.  This also would have been beneficial for Matt, the recent graduate working at a hardware store  only so he can afford the medication for his gastric issues.

The ACA has new insurance rules, such as companies being banned from rescinding peoples’ coverage when they become ill.  We saw in the video what happened to Jennifer after she was hospitalized for cancer then rescinded because she didn’t report abnormal spotting.  Premium subsidies will help people such as Patricia, the woman who had an appendectomy but could not afford cataract surgery since she quit her job to tend to her sick mother.  It will also benefit Paul, the 58 year old who went into bankruptcy after suffering a heart attack.  It will allow people with pre-existing conditions such as Ben, the man who had a heart attack and couldn’t find insurance afterwards,  have access to affordable insurance.  Small business tax credits will help people such as the family of four living in Massachusetts who could not afford the high premium rates.

The ACA has some of the same principles as the healthcare system in Switzerland.  Everyone has to buy insurance and the state pays for the poor.  I do not believe we will ever have a government run healthcare system or regulated price for everything like in Tokyo or Germany.  Although it seems to work well in those countries, Americans have different ideas when it comes to government interference or regulation of prices since this country believes so much in capitalism.

I sincerely hope once all the initial kinks are worked out of the system our healthcare will be up to par with other industrialized nations.

Reading DeParle did not change my perception of social policy to combat poverty; it only re-emphasized what I already believe.  The current welfare system is not designed to help women, such as the one’s in the book, escape poverty.

Stone believes humans should be free to make their own choices with as little interference from the government as possible.  She mentions people have different skills and talents which lead them to different opportunities.  In order to maintain equality, the government has to take from the advantaged and give to the disadvantaged.  It would not be equality if only people considered to be “talented” received all the high level jobs….therefore one person’s equality may come at the expense of another’s liberty.  This reminded me of Affirmative Action.  Personally, Affirmative Action was of benefit to me as a minority, but not to my mother who is White.  I remember in the 1990’s when her position was given to an African American woman who was not nearly as qualified as she was.   At the time I was a teenager who did not understand anything about politics.  After reading Stone, however, the program makes sense from her perspective because many of the White people who founded the US owe many of their achievements to slaves.

In regards to the liberty-welfare trade off, Deparle’s book spoke of intelligent women who were no less talented than women not receiving welfare.  Social problems are what kept them living in poverty.  We saw Angie was a good student, and so was her daughter.  Angie’s home living situation as a teenager, and her daughter’s poor health, are what kept them from excelling in school.  We also saw these women attempted to work.  Angie went back to school to become a nursing assistant and later had a job at the post office.  She had to quit because of stomach ulcers.  The same thing happened to Jewell.  She attempted to go back to school, but the program was discontinued.  When she did finally work, she also had health problems.  These are clear examples of the policy needing to change; not the individual lacking intelligence or talent.

I believe Deparle did feel there was a trade off.  Although throughout the book dependence on others and the government was inescapable as a means of survival, they do mention always being under the control of the government.  First Hattie Mae speaks about having to hide her boyfriends and the gifts he gave her from the social workers who would do pop-up inspections on the house.  Later, we see the hoops Angie, Jewell, and Opal had to jump through in order to keep their benefits.