… John Hood: National problems caused by ACA’s initial structure

North Carolina’s failure to expand Medicaid has had a drastic effect on health care costs. Hood doesn’t want to talk about that. 8% of North Carolina’s residents would have benefited from the expansion. These people are still showing up at the ER without insurance. The House voted 54 times to repeal the ACA. CBS estimated each vote cost about $1.5 million — for a total of $75 million wasted. It will be very very difficult for a new Republican president to repeal the ACA. It’s popular. There’s not enough votes to repeal it. It’s estimated 16 million people will be enrolled by 2017. It’s hard to take it away without an alternative.

— Carl Prine

Yes, Mr. Hood, the Affordable Care Act is not perfect. There are flaws in need of addressing. However. let’s note that due to the ACA (Obamacare) many people are not dying, going bankrupt, or suffering from treatable illnesses. The United States with its sophisticated fiscal system finally joined those countries with advanced economies that deliver health care to their citizens.

— Reginald Brown

A new president will have the power to fully repeal Obamacare, since it is unlikely that Congress will change party majorities after next year’s election. And that’s exactly what his first actions should include.

— Steve Pender

Are you serious? Republicans were never going to repeal Obamacare, aka ACA, it was just something to run on. Insurance companies love the billions of taxpayers’ dollars. Do you hear insurance or drug companies complaining … NO … Hillary going to take your guns, gold, ammo or first born will make better campaign slogans in 2016. I forgot Benghazi … ACA repeal is not going to happen, period.

— Leo Smith

  

Obamacare did nothing for medical indigents. What it did was force people in their 20s and 30 to fund Barry’s little Ponzi scheme. Hospitals were already required to provide care to emergency patients and chronically ill, and the program used by the poor to finance care, Meficaid, was already in existence. When one elects a socialist who despises America, that’s what one gets.

— Stephen Owen

… My Turn: Abridging freedom             of speech

Mr. Roberts, I think you’re confusing freedom of speech with freedom of action, in this case commerce. This happens a lot, along with the notion that freedom of speech equates to freedom from reprisal. Although, to be fair, we don’t really have ultimate freedom of speech, since it’s illegal to defame, perjure, or threaten.

I value this freedom as you do, but just be sure you’re making the right argument. A person cannot deny service to a protected minority. Period. This includes women, people of color, immigrants, seniors, and, oh yeah, LGBT people. Tread carefully on this path. It could be Christians who are refused service next.

— Cathy Hutchens Mahaffey

As the article points out, freedom of speech — even freedom of thought — is being whittled away under the guise of poltical correctness. A recent (October 22) article in the Wall Street Journal points out that colleges and universities in particular are turning out a world view that seeks to criminalize opinion that doesn’t adhere to the PC party line. As proof, it cites a poll of 800 students across the country that shows over a third say that the First Amendment does not protect “hate speech,” while 30 percent of students who identify themselves as liberal consider the First Amendment as outdated. There is too much apathy and silence from the majority who recognize political correctness as the threat that it is. Thank you, Mr. Roberts, for an excellent article!

— Tim Deal

… Toney’s story: family speaks     about domestic violence

I bet if you get the real statistics, you would find that 1 of 5 women in Rowan county have been abused by a husband, ex-husband, or boyfriend.

— Donna Beaver Miller