Waivers Standing In Healthcare's Way?

President Obama after speaking about health care to a joint session of Congress in 2009.

Since Maine's reprieve earlier this year, several states have followed suit by also gaining reprieves, under the reason that it would upset their individual economies. Debates have broken out about whether or not the  waivers damage Obama's credibility or if the whole law is flawed all together.

Instead, Republicans have seized on the waivers as just more evidence that the law is fundamentally flawed because, they say, it requires so many exceptions. To date, for example, the administration has relaxed the $750,000 standard for more than 1,000 health plans covering 2.6 million people.

Making sure that the nation's debt is in check, is an important issue, but the general population not being completely covered under healthcare is worse. Stalling the law will only make it harder in the future. The population is fairly tied on the issue.

A poll conducted this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 42 percent of Americans had favorable views of the law while 46 percent viewed it unfavorably. Public perceptions of the law were slightly more negative than when it was passed. People most likely to benefit from the law — the uninsured and low-income households — were more likely to say they had too little information to know how it would affect them.

 My opinion is that the waivers should cease, if President Obama wants the nation to take his law seriously. Of course the rules need money to enforce and handle cases, but sacrifice now will lead to brighter futures.