From time to time I will post political posts, please know that I respect your political choices and I hope you will respect mine. I have thoughts to share and that is exactly what I am doing…
So, where do I start? I didn’t vote for our current president and after he was elected I was sick, saddened, and scared for a few days and as the weeks/months go by I see it was for good reason. I did not “not” vote for him with my future in mind, I have survived quite a bit already and know that I can survive this presidency (I hope); I did it with Matthew’s future in mind.
Last week the House of Representatives passed legislation on a Healthcare bill that would derail Matthew’s future. Many of you know Matthew is currently attending college. He wants to get a bachelor’s degree in Communication and become a cameraman. Matthew wants to become dependent on himself and not others. He wants to get off of Medicaid, Social Security, and other so called entitlement programs that help him have the life he currently has and yes cost tax payers money. He wants the opportunity to live a good life, like we all do.
If the Healthcare bill passes the Senate, I hear it won’t and I pray that they are right, but if it does where would be the incentive for Matthew (and others with disabilities) to continue to better himself? He would be priced out of insurance, and no longer qualify for Medicaid. If he had a medical emergency he would be financially destroyed. So what’s the incentive from this perspective? What would be an incentive for an employer to keep him if he alone would cost the company on insurance premiums?
As a mother, these are things that keep me up at night; I pray in the years it will take Matthew to get his education cooler heads will prevail. Until then, I do remain fearful of the future that this administration is trying to alter for what I can see is not for the better when it concerns individuals with disabilities.
Please know that I do understand the current Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) is not perfect, changes needed to be made. But to completely repeal and replace with something, that doesn’t benefit everyone, and knowingly hurts some is not the right thing to do. This isn’t a sports game a Win shouldn’t be just so you can put something in your Win column.
My PSA on politics is to stay informed, share your stories, understand your rights, and when you can, get involved at a local, state, or national level to help make the changes that need to be made to insure a good life for our loved ones!