Healthcare Reform

With the fine job Obama et al have done fixing the economy, I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can do with our nation's healthcare system.
A couple of old adages come to mind when I ponder this topic: If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Our healthcare system is in need of a few tweaks to make it work better- not a complete overhaul. Nor does it need to be thrown out and replaced, especially with a model that hasn't worked for anyone else who's tried it.
I do not have health insurance: I lost it with the divorce. That was one of the scariest parts of being on my own; I'm doing ok so far, but I know we are a small health crisis away from disaster, probably. (This wouldn't be the case if the economy was actually working now.)
If I need to, I can get healthcare at a clinic for people like me. I have gone there in the past, but haven't gone back since they quit giving appointments and started making us wait for hours, with only the hope of being able to see a doctor (first come, first served, and they wouldn't know how many they could see until time ran out).
I've been to the ER with a couple of my adult children who also don't have insurance, and in the first case it worked out well, although we refused a lot of what they would've done because we were trying to keep costs down. In the end, the visit was free, thanks to the hospital's policy of providing free care to people who qualify.
In the other case, we waited for hours and never got past intake. My son- who's in the Army Reserves- limped around for weeks till his probably broken foot healed on its own.
My ex, who still had insurance at the time, had the experience of going to a doctor and being charged an outrageous price for a small procedure. Talking to the doctor's billing department and the insurance company got nowhere. He threw a tantrum, and they decided to let it go.
My underage children are covered under the state's plan, now that their father's coverage has expired. I haven't tried to use it yet, but I heard one has to go to the other side of town to see a doctor- that's how it is here, for most things.
While I was still married and had insurance, I saw our coverage go from excellent to a step above an HMO, yet we had to pay a lot for even the cheapest plan. In the end, the doctors available as Primary Care Physicians were mostly foreigners, often had no office nearby, and overall, were a gamble as far as ability, despite the insurance company's screening process which was supposed to assure quality care.
Now Obama et al want us to throw all that out and- regardless of what they say to sell this inferior product- give us nothing but the worst of what now exists.
If they do what they want, for most of us, a visit to the doctor will involve having to wait- possibly for MONTHS- just for an appointment. When you finally do get in, you will probably find your appointment was actually for one of those cattle pen sessions such as the clinic I mentioned has degenerated to. If you get to see a doctor, and if this person knows what they're doing- which will not be a given, since the quality of doctors will surely decline once the money they can earn disappears- he/she will see what your problem is and will have to decide whether or not to treat you. This decision will be based on whether you are worth treating- are you too old; is your condition too expensive to treat; will the cost exceed the probable outcome; possibly even considering whether you contribute enough to be treated.
In addition, what treatments are available will be limited, as funds for research and development of drugs and procedures dries up, and specialists disappear.
To add insult to injury, this so-called healthcare will include abortion, sterilization, and birth control- not to mention euthanasia- all of which are morally repugnant to real Christians, who will be forced to pay for these and be seen by doctors who have no problem with them. Healthcare providers will have no choice in these matters, either, or in the rationing of care: their only options will be to quit the healthcare field, or risk the wrath of the State by following their consciences.
What Obama et al are not going to tell us is what they will do if/when they or their loved ones need care, especially life-saving care. First of all, they will probably qualify for any top-of-the-line care that still remains, since they're doing such an important job as public servants. If that fails, you can bet they will have access to any better-qualified physicians who are still around, if only because they will be able to pay them. This will probably be kept secret, since most people have a natural understanding of the the rights and equality of all men, as well as an extreme aversion to such elitism, and wouldn't tolerate this kind of deadly discrimination.
Obama is counting on his still inexplicably high approval ratings to shove this program through (and down our throats), like he did his wonderful economic reforms that have brought such bountiful blessings to the average American. He's telling his cronies to divert their attacks from their more moderate fellow Democrats (who can see that this reform sucks) to the majority of Republicans, who are fighting it because they really do care about the little guy. He needs all the Dems in Congress to back him in order to pass it.
Let's not let them get away with it, shall we?
Call, write, email, petition, picket- do whatever it takes to prevent this catastrophic decimation of our healthcare system. There is good reason why everyone who can still comes here when their lives are in danger: in spite of its flaws, ours is the best healthcare available.