As several diarists have already posted, it's time to sell Obamacare. People hate the "myth" that has been created around the legislation, but they LOVE the actual provisions of the act when asked about them.
The trick to selling something for which people already hold an aversion is to frame the issue in ways that appeal their own lives and to their own philosophy of life.
Here are some of my suggestions for reframing Obamacare as a "win" for the country.
"A couple years ago Republicans were arguing that crushing a child’s testicles was constitutional. Now they want to argue that denying your child health care when he has leukemia is constitutional." -John Cole, Balloon Juice
It's not, according to the Supreme Court.
What this means is:
1) The donut hole for seniors will remain closed. Years ago, Republicans purposely created the donut hole to "incentivize" the elderly not to use health care. Obamacare got rid of it.
2) You can expect a check in the mail if your insurance company fails to use 80% or more of the funds they collect from you for actual health care. If they try to use it for CEO bonuses or TV advertising, you get a check! That's money in the bank, people! More than 3 million Americans will be receiving rebate checks in the next few months. Will you be one of them?
3) You can no longer be kicked off the insurance rolls after 20 years of paying into the policy just because of a typo or a pre-existing condition. Before Obamacare, insurance companies could take your money and then when you got sick and needed them to pay for something, they could find something in your paperwork and deny you coverage or kick you out! (The practice is commonly known as "rescission") That's one way that Obamacare mends a hole in contract law. Insurance companies can no longer do that anymore.
4) You get access to key preventive services such as mammograms and colonoscopies without charging a deductible, co-pay or coinsurance. One of the reasons why health care bills are out of this world is that we only treat people after they get sick, and need surgery and lots of medicines for things like diabetes and heart disease. By giving people access to preventive services, Obamacare lets you take control of your life and begin making healthy choices before they cost you big time! In short, Obamacare = Personal Responsibility.
5) Insurance companies can no longer put lifetime limits on key benefits, such as hospital stays. Before, if you got cancer and your surgeries took you over a certain threshold, that was it! Game over. Your account ran outta money and you were on the fast track to heaven. No longer is that true!
6) The shortage of primary care doctors, nurses and physician assistants will begin to be addressed, as programs such as scholarships and loan forgiveness help bring doctors to small towns that lack health professionals.
7) People who have been free-loading on the system and forcing those of us who have insurance to pay almost $1,000 more a year to cover them when they get sick and show up at the emergency room to leach off the rest of us can no longer do that. If someone chooses not to have insurance, they now must pay a penalty to help cover the cost that the rest of us have been paying to date. (Note: That is the "mandate" that everyone has been talking about.) It is expected that only 1% of the entire population will choose not to have insurance, and thus will be required to pay the penalty. Again, Obamacare = Personal Responsibility.
8) Small businesses that have fewer than 10 employees, average wages beneath $25,000, and that provide insurance for their workers will get a 50% tax credit on their contribution. The tax credit reaches up to small businesses with up to 50 employees and average wages of $50,000, though it gets smaller as the business get bigger and richer. (Note: 96% of small businesses have fewer than 50 employees.)
These provisions (and many others) will be coming online at various points in time. Some of them, such as the checks from insurance companies and free preventive care, are already working. Others, such as the penalty will come in the future. To see the timeline, look here: http://www.healthcare.gov/...
People have spent a lot of time and money trying to demonize "Obamacare." It's actually a huge step forward in a country where 50 million do not have sufficient insurance coverage and over half of all family bankruptcies occur because of health care related bills.
UPDATED (6/30/2012)
"Obamacare for FreedomLovers" jpg to pass around to your crazy uncles and post on Facebook