Republican Rep. Complains That Obamacare Covers Rehab & Maternity Care

GOP Rep. Brian Babin from Texas recently appeared on Washington Watch Radio Show, a conservative radio show hosted by Tony Perkins, a failed politician who believes that natural disasters occur because God is punishing us for LGBT acceptance. Perkins must be harbouring some in-the-closet beliefs as his house was destroyed in a flood in August 2016, the word you're looking for is irony. He has also suggested critique of Barack Obama's birth certificate was "legitimate" and remarking that "it makes sense" that Obama was a Muslim - so we're dealing with a real bright crowd here. 

Representative Babin, showing a complete disregard for facts and evidence, claimed that most people were against the Affordable Care Act at the time it was passed and that the people want to "get rid of this thing" now that "we've had a taste of socialized medicine" - except, the ACA isn't quite socialized medicine now is it, Brian? Socialized medicine is single-payer healthcare, the ACA contains a mandate which forces you to buy a healthcare plan on the private market and is originally a right-wing solution to the problems in the health industry during President Bush's time in office. An equivalent bill was originally proposed by the Heritage Foundation, and back in 1993 during Bill Clinton's reign, a bill called Health Equity and Access Reform Today (HEART) was introduced, for which, Republican Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island was considered the "point man" and had 20 co-sponsors, including Republicans such as Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-KANSAS), Orrin Hatch (R-UTAH), Chuck Grassley (R-IOWA), Richard Lugar (R-INDIANA), among many others and as well as two Democratic co-sponsors.

It should be mentioned that the ACA and HEART bills are not identical, as the Republican bill did not expand Medicaid as the ACA does. HEART, just like Obamacare, required employers to offer insurance to their employees, but they were under no obligation to cover any of the costs where as Obamacare forces employers to help cover the cost of their workers healthcare plans. The Chafee HEART plan also did not lay out how increasing coverage among the American public would be financed. 

Anyway, back to the idiot that is Brian Babin. The GOP Rep. decided that his main gripes with the Affordable Care Act are that it covers people's rehab and maternity costs - otherwise known as giving addicts and parents the care they desperately need. Babin then claimed that the ACA requires insurance plans to cover things that people don't need if they're "law abiding and they make wise decisions."

Let's take Rep. Babin's logic and apply it across the board, a little experiment if you will. Let's use Car Insurance in our experiment. As Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk brilliantly points out in this video; 

"Now why, would a 25 to 30 year old, who's a safe driver need to have insurance for broken legs and broken arms, he's a safe driver, he ain't get into no accidents."

"Now why, would a 25 to 30 year old have to pay into insurance that covers heart related issues or cancer, he's young, he's not gonna get heart related issues or cancer." (Both are in a Southern accent).

This is EXACTLY why you buy insurance that covers each and every medical need, or incase of a car crash in regards to car insurance. Sure, you may be young, energetic and healthy right now, but then what if you crash your car, your wife becomes pregnant, an unexpected illness or accident that leads to you needing an insurance plan that includes cancer treatment should you contract the disease, or have a heart attack and need urgent care. You don't want a plan that includes help with drug addiction as you feel you'll never need it and you're wise enough to know better than to take drugs, but then what happens if that's not the case, if you begin taking drugs and become addicted then find yourself desperately needing care.

Imagine Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin's daughter, decided that in order to bring down the costs of her insurance plan, she did not want to include maternity/pregnancy care, as she loves to preach the word of God and how we all should refrain from sex until marriage and keep ourselves 'pure'. Bristol Palin now has three children, two out of wedlock. Hospital costs range from $3,500 per stay but when adding in prenatal, delivery-related and postpartum healthcare, the cost rockets up to $8,802 on average. Nearly 9000 dollars just to bring a child into the world is insane, also including that 40% of America makes less than $20,000 a year. That means should anyone within this 40% of the country become pregnant and a healthcare system like TrumpCare or the one Brian Babin desires is in place, 44% of their income will go to delivering the child and getting the care they need.

Babin decides to throw all logic and reason out of the window, adding that if the ACA's individual mandate is repealed, "a lot of folks" will probably go without insurance. "But whose choice is this?" Babin asked. "This is America, this is not the Soviet Union." I'm sorry, but what the f*ck? A politician literally just advocated for less people having access to health insurance in the name of  'freedom', around 45,000 die each year because of lack of insurance and this idiot thinks it's worthwhile because we'll supposedly have more freedom, you guys can enjoy your freedom but I'll choose the insurance, I'd rather not, you know.. die. 

If Babin thinks Obamacare is a policy that is akin to Soviet-style politics, then what on earth must this man think of Single-Payer healthcare!? A system that covers every single person and costs $17 TRILLION less than the current system over the next 10 years, might I add. I live in a country with government healthcare and it is wonderful, you make your appointment, see your GP, get whatever help you need and then go on with the rest of your life. I, in no way, feel less free living within this system.