Rant on ACA repeal

My intention with this blog is to be focused on mental illness and not my political views. But after reading this piece in Cosmopolitan written by Chirlane McCray the wife of New York city mayor Bill de Blasio I felt the need to speak my mind.

For those who don't feel inclined to follow the link it is about the ACA and what Americans could lose if its repealed. The focus of the piece was on the coverage for Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Having Schizoaffective Dsorder and having coverage because of the ACA for Mental Health services it resonated with me.

Prior to the passage of the ACA receiving medical coverage let alone coverage for Mental Health was damn near impossible for me. I couldn't purchase insurance individually because having Schizoaffective Disorder meant that I had a preexisting condition and often times insurance through work had inadequate coverage in regards to mental health services. Often times the plans would either have a separate, much higher co-pays and deductible for visits and psychiatric medicines or flat out refused to cover treatment for Schizoaffective and other mental illnesses. I recall even joking that with one insurance plan it seemed like one could only access if mental health services if they were bored and didn't need it and not if they actually needed them.

This was because the insurance companies saw treatment as too costly even though in the long term untreated Mental Illness is far more costlier. It wasn't just the insurance companies that acted this way. Often times funding for community mental health services are the first slashed to help fix a budget deficit. States quickly found that it was cheaper to jail those with mental illness rather than treat them. Here is an excellent multi part report on this done by PennLive.

I am aware that the ACA has its flaws. Some people saw their coverage change and costs go up, but for many the ACA meant finally being able to receive actual coverage. Those of us with preexisting conditions finally had access to affordable coverage that didn't refuse care for our illnesses. We saw expanded access to mental health treatment that could not be treated differently than those that treat physical illnesses.

So even with its flaws there were many positive aspects to the law. Many people greatly benefited even if they were unaware that it was because of the ACA (hint, ACA and Obamacare are the same law people). Besides exclusions of preexisting conditions prior to the ACA insurance companies could place a yearly and/or life time cap on spending. That meant a single serious accident or illness could quickly push a person over the limit after which the insurance company would no longer cover cost of care. I can understand that those who did have issues are angry and want it repealed, but I ask why repeal it. Why risk millions of people losing access to care that they need. Why not fix it, improving it so that fewer are inconvenienced by it.

My feel has been that multiple reasons exist in the minds of those screaming for its repeal. The major one being is the selfishness of human nature. The I’ve got mine so screw you buddy mindset. These people are so blinded by their selfishness that they fail to see the positives of the law. They fail to see that for the first time people with possible debilitating illnesses could get care for their illnesses without relying on government disability programs. They fail to understand that their own family members or even themselves might be impacted by the repeal of the ACA. They have allowed themselves to swayed by false facts and exaggerated claims that the ACA is a failure so it is better to repeal it entirely.

These same people often times align with the pro-life movement, yet they fail to see or even care that a repeal would be a death sentence to some people. These same people often times bitch and moan about seemingly healthy people collecting disability without thinking that perhaps because of the medical benefits that often times come with disability that person is seemingly healthy.

One of the things that I like to say is that if you are for ACA repeal then you have no right to bitch about people collecting disability. You have no right to bitch about “lazy” people who don't work and collect medicaid. You have no right to bitch about the “crazy person” that didn't get treatment and did something. In my opinion you lose those rights when you are for stripping access to medical care from people.

And yes, a repeal of the ACA is stripping access. Without coverage it is next to impossible to access to care if that care is unaffordable to the person. Without coverage many people can not afford the appointments with psychiatric professionals and the medicine that may be prescribed to treat their mental illness.

And to our elected officials I ask this, how can you say that mental health reform is a priority while also arguing that a repeal of a law that allowed so many to have access to care needs to be repealed? The Mental Health Parity Equity Act of 2008 and the 21st Century Cures Act that was passed last year passed with bipartisan support. Yet a repeal of the ACA without an adequate replacement plan leaves these laws as little more than worthless words on paper. You spoke eloquently about how these acts would expand access to mental health care yet you have worked tirelessly to strip this access from people.

Are you so blinded by hatred of the man who got the ACA enacted that you can not see the hypocrisy of your actions? Are you so beholden to special interest groups, lobbyists and party line rhetoric that you can't see how support of both is a contradiction? Do you not understand that saying cost is an issue that you have in effect placed a dollar amount on human life something that runs counter to your argument that all human life is precious and worthy of life?

I doubt that this entry will really sway anyone, mainly because I have learned that we humans have a tendency of reconciling contradictory beliefs while also shutting out any evidence that proves those contradictions. We do this because of ignorance (not seeing that the beliefs contradict) mental gymnastics (weak arguments that they don't contradict) and the general uncomfortableness that comes from admitting that a belief we hold may be wrong