Analyze this! A more in-depth analysis of Universal Health Care Reform

                Recent debate in America over health care reform has sparked a curiosity in many Americans as to how and why so many people are concerned with the current health care system and what there is to improve upon.  Recently, democrats have been dropping their support for the bill because many Americans remain uneducated about what the health care reform bill actually contains and often throw their opinions out against the bill. Because their un-inform opinions, polls have shown that Republicans will win a large amount of seats in the upcoming elections; resting fear in the Democratic party. Recent opinion polls have shown that only 41.3% of Americans favor the health care plan while 49.4% of Americans oppose the bill.

                Currently medical recipients are concerned with the innumerable number of health insurers, the lack for quality of care when in hospitals or doctors’ offices, the amount of time patients wait for treatments, and the overall lack for patient safety. The American government and President Barack Obama in particular have taken charge in reforming the current flawed health care system of America. It is because of the citizens concern that the government has become involved. Recently the government passed HR 3200 or “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act” which has sparked debate among various political, ethnic, and economic groups.

                The overall concept of government sponsored public welfare was synonymous with the increase of power given to states when they were regulated for unfair business practices. When the nationalist Theodore Roosevelt took power in the early twentieth century, he was quick to clinch to the ideal that the Federal Government should be a tool for progressive reform. During Roosevelt’s 1912 Presidential Campaign he joined with the Progressive party of America and formulated a political platform that included a provision that the American government would provide universal health insurance to all Americans. When in office however, Roosevelt abandoned all efforts for health care reform and it was not until the Social Security Act of 1935 was signed by Franklin Roosevelt that placed the Federal Government as a leader of public welfare that any ideas of health reform were mentioned. After World War II, President Harry S. Truman launched an effort that advocated combining social and political welfare in a plan he called the “Fair Deal”. He made universal health care coverage a part of his Democratic Party Platform which was kept quiet until President Lyndon B. Johnson adopted, with much opposition, Medicare and Medicaid. These insurance groups offered health coverage for both the poor and elderly. Though both President’s efforts were noteworthy, they both fell short of Roosevelt’s original goal for universal health coverage for every American. President Richard Nixon followed Johnson’s efforts by expanding the availability of the existing medical programs. The Nixon-Kennedy Healthcare plan of 1974 was on its way through Congress when the Watergate Scandal derailed all efforts to once again pass health care reform. No president since Nixon has tried to pass health care reform, though Clinton did propose a detailed plan to provide care for all Americans but was never fully developed. With the passage of this recent legislation, Obama has achieved a main domestic goal of his presidency. He has passed the most influential piece of social legislation since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s with the Great Society initiatives.

                Current proposals for reform have been outlined by President Obama and his supporters. However what the Obama administration seeks to improve upon is the delivery and implementation of the health reform. Over the past century Presidents were not successful in implementing health care reform efforts. The issue at hand is that over 32 million Americans and their children are uninsured. This rather large number includes unemployed Americans who cannot afford their own insurance, Americans who simply do not want insurance, or Americans who are employed that cannot afford their companies insurance. Health insurance agencies that do provide healthcare for Americans have issues as well. What Obama and his administration have sought out in doing is to create a new form of health care that will provide equal benefits for all Americans. The new health care reform bill, which included benefits that went into effect on September 23, 2010, comprises details that will allow young adults to stay on their parents insurance coverage until the age of 26, not deny patients due to pre-existing conditions, and will close the growing debt that Medicare has accumulated over the past century. The Affordable Health care for America act includes a public health insurance option that would be required to negotiate with providers. The bill also provides that every American citizen is required to have health insurance. The government legislation has offered different levels of coverage that health insurance companies are allowed to offer; a bronze plan which will cover 60 percent of full benefits, a silver plan which covers 70 percent of benefits, a gold plan which covers 80 percent of benefits, and a platinum plan which would cover 90 percent of health benefits at clinics, hospitals, and emergency situations. These different levels of coverage are where American citizens would be able to make decisions about how much they would like to pay for insurance. There would be a wide variety of income levels that could buy the government provided health insurance, but every level of insurance is affordable for everyone. Through the new bill, insurance cannot drop you no matter the previous medical conditions therefore no one can be denied insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Waiting time for procedures was also a large concern for the Obama administration. They found that many patients who needed urgent surgeries were put in the back of the line in order to allow for “fairness”. Because of this some patients became more ill and therefore the new bill calls for less waiting time not based on pre-existing medical conditions. The $940 billion bill which will be paid in over 10 years will also close the “donut hole” for Medicare receivers that will occur in 2020. The “donut hole” is a term to describe Medicare patients that have run out of benefits before they have died. If a patient under Medicare were to hit the “donut hole” before 2020, the government has promised to provide a $250 rebate to these citiznens. The Medicaid program also expands under the Health Care Reform bill to include 133% of the federal poverty level which was raised to $29,327. Abortion will not be covered by the health care bill due to the controversy from both political sides. Individuals will be required to pay out-of-pocket for abortion procedures if they do decide to go through the process of abortion. Obama’s bill will greatly affect various ethnic, social, and age groups across the nation; all beneficially. Before these groups were neglected because they were in the minority, a topic that Obama has focused on changing throughout his presidency .

                As of right now, many Americans cannot afford health care insurance because it is either too expensive or is not provided by their employer. Based on research by the FDA, an estimated 18,000 American citizens died in 2002 because they were uninsured and could not receive medical treatment. The FDA and doctors across the nation agree that something needs to be done, but why would they even question this universal health care program? MONEY AND EFFICIENCY. Doctors are against universal health coverage because they see the financial burden that is put on other governments in Europe that do provide health insurance to every citizen. Many European nations have found themselves in incredible amounts of debt because they have spent a large sum of money to provide healthcare to every able-bodied citizen. However, a recent study has provided facts for how the health care bill would affect every district across the nation. In my own district, governed by Sue Myrick, 171,000 families and 17,700 small businesses will receive tax credits from the bill and 589,000 residents will receive improved health care coverage. The data also shows that nearly 800 families in this one district of America will be protected from bankruptcy from the new provisions that the health care bill provides.

                This brings me to the point of asking why there is so much controversy over this bill? Why would people not want to provide health care for everyone and potentially save their lives? Once again the issue is MONEY. With the government having just passed the largest economic stimulus bill that the country will most likely ever see, people in America are concerned with how this new medical reform bill will be paid for. The $938 billion health care bill will be paid through a combination of tax hikes on the wealth and cuts on Medicare for the old. In order to pay for the overhaul of the current health care system, a 5.4% tax hike will be placed on those Americans that are earning over $1 million annually.

Though the bill will expand coverage to nearly 32 million Americans, the Republican Party has found that the results are not supposed to come into play until 2014. Through research, the Republican Party has also provided details that 60% of Americans already receive health insurance from their employers. The other 40% have a chance to either opt out of insurance, are too lazy to look for insurance because their employer does not provide coverage, or they cannot afford the insurance. Because of these statistics and the fear for an even larger economic debt, the Republican Party has presented their own counterpart to the bill. With upcoming midterm elections, republicans have aimed to reach Americans with a less forward and extreme health care bill. It would allow families and businesses to buy health insurance across state lines and allow individuals, small businesses, and trade associations to pool together and acquire health insurance at lower prices. The lower prices for health insurance would make it easier for companies to provide health insurance to all of their employees, thus increasing the percent of Americans with health insurance coverage. The counterpart also gives states the tools to create their own innovative reforms that allow the states to lower health care costs, provides in-home care, mobile health care, and allows for the expansion of community health centers for citizens who are either far from medical areas of do not have the benefits of traveling to the health areas.

A few weeks ago 21 states across the nation came together to challenge the constitutionality of the health care bill based on the provisions that states must provide a large sum of money to pay for procedures that the national government would not cover. The states find it unconstitutional that they will have to pay for a large portion of health care procedures in hospitals as well as pay for new health field employees to receive training for their new positions. Voters in at least three other states will be weighing ballot initiatives opposing the health care reform bill during midterm elections. Republicans leadership’s new agenda is “A Pledge to America” that calls for the health care law to be repealed and replaced with the scaled-down list of provisions that were previously stated. Websites and republican support groups have popped up on the internet ever since the bill was passed. One especially which has a large amount of endorsement from the republicans party including John McCain provides that the constitution gives congress the power of the purse and the ability to apporporiate or not appropriate money for authorized government activities. The website believes that “defunding” Obama would “defund” the health care reform bill.

What Americans need to focus on right now is their own opinion about healthcare. Should everyone receive healthcare or should it just be for those citizens that have worked hard enough to receive the coverage? What do we make of the poor who cannot afford healthcare? What I have found through my research in writing this post is that many Americans are uneducated about healthcare. They don’t understand why they are on a specific side of the issue and why. EDUCATION IS THE KEY. If more Americans were educated about what this bill entails then I feel like there could be more logical arguments and less refutation about Obama’s efforts to reform our decrepit health care system in America.