Cruel and Inhumane Treatment

I was working on Part 3 of my Compassionate Progressive Series when I was notified about the most recent ruling aimed at destroying the positive progress that the Affordable Care Act has made to date.

The latest ruling: D.C.Circuit Halbig Ruling, states that the federal government cannot issue subsidies to those individuals living in the 36 states that chose not to set up State Exchanges, stating,

"We conclude that appellants have the better of the argument: a federal Exchange is not an 'Exchange established by the State,' and section 36B does not authorize the IRS to provide tax credits for insurance purchased on federal Exchanges". 

What does this mean? It means that tens of millions of people will lose the life-saving health care benefits that they have been enjoying since the first Open Enrollment period.

Image from: Forbes

Obama's historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has brought millions of Americans out of the desperate uninsured/under-insured category. The law has certainly had it's shortcomings, but has presented an important and crucial first step. But from the beginning, the GOP-Libertarian-Tea Party has been unrelenting in their attacks against the law, waisting millions of taxpayer dollars in various strategies to strip, gut or otherwise weaken the ACA. This ruling has given them their biggest victory to date.

But aside from the millions of wasted taxpayer dollars, the true cost of their attacks will be measured in human lives. If this ruling is not reversed, the real and devastating results will be increased and completely avoidable pain, suffering and even death for human life. How do these politicians and their base voters reconcile their actions with the consequences? How can we continue to survive such cruel and inhumane treatment of our citizenry? 

We must, as a society, advocate for compassionate solutions to societal problems. The ACA has been that first step. What happens next is up to us. Do we continue to allow the regressive, destructive, cruel and inhumane policies of the neoconservatives? 

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