Should America Provide Universal Health Care - Research Paper Example

?Running head: SHOULD AMERICA PROVIDE UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE? Should America Provide Universal Health Care? Taking a look at the Affordable Health Care Act Law passed in March of 2010 Author Name Date Side One: Those who support universal health care reform. Introduction In the past, the United States was considered to have one of the best health care systems in the whole world. The amenities and the extent of coverage offered to the people of US were extra-ordinary and unquestionable. But, in recent years, with the economic downtrend progressing at an exponential rate, the irregularities present in the system are being exposed quite often. Now, all of a sudden, panic has set across the entire nation and there is constant uproar from the citizens of US to bring about a positive change to the Health care system. The US government got its act together and in March, 2010, passed the Affordable Health Care Act, signed by President Barrack Obama. The response of the country to this law has been mixed. This section of the report discusses about the people who support the law and the reasons they provide for their stand. What is Affordable Health Care Act? The primary focus of this health care act is to account the health insurance companies for the maximum of the medical expenditures spent by their customers. The previous health reform acts were complained of having higher costs and hence this act intended to lower those prices and at the same time improve the quality of the treatment meted out to the citizens. (Detmer, 2010). The major provisions of this act were: To push most of the health expenditure to the insurance organization itself To improve the coverage prospects of citizens with their already existing plans. To give a better coverage of the prescription drugs which were lacking in previous health laws Medicare’s trust fund support has been extended up to 12 years Who supports it? The major support for this health care act was from President Obama and his administrators. The democrats are also on the same boat with Obama, supporting the law and its implications. Other social organizations like Plan Parenthood, Health & Human Services have offered their support to this law. (Novelli, 2009). In addition, there has been consistent support from attorney generals of several states including the state politicians. Why do they support it? According to the President, the health care act ensembles, “the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care.” (Stolberg&Pear, 2010). He is of the opinion that this law is what several generations of American people were looking for to vitalize their life with a new sense of hope. He is also establishes the point that this bill would bring out the economic inequalities present in the US society, the first of its kind since its inception in the society, three decades back. Apart from the proposed health benefits the act has to offer, on the political front, it is an important bill for strengthening the president’s rule over country. Its success, on the political front would put Obama’s administration on a better perspective among the opposition party as well as to the people of America. Organizations like Plan Parenthood, Health & Human Services are of the opinion that the law would make way for an affordable prescription drugs and it would make the services to be person centered approach where the required doctors could be seen from a single place instead of running around several places to meet separate doctors. Canada offers one good example for a health care system that has been universal in its approach, providing health care to all its citizens in an efficient way. It works in such a way that the public funds act as the major sponsors for the health care system, with minor contributions from the private sector. (Maddox, 2010). Several politicians, statespersons and attorney generals are of the view that this act has set US in the right course of action to provide a universal health care system, similar to that of Canada and other countries like France, Japan and Norway. When do they want it to begin? As Obama said, several generations have waited for such a reform and hence their proposition is to reap the fruits of this act immediately by enacting the law. The act was signed on March 23, 2010 and was immediately put into action. How the bill as passed will work? According to the bill, to put in layman terms, any citizen who is not covered under health insurance, will be covered so with the government paying for the private insurance courage, an amount that is equal to what the citizen can afford. (Doherty, 2010). As a response, the citizen in response has to contribute something to the coverage, a number which will be decided upon his or her capability. The important working criterion for the bill is that every citizen is involved in making insurance coverage available for every other citizen by paying taxes. Conclusion The supporters of the law believe that it has set the tone for a new beginning of health reform era. They believe that it is the stepping stone for every person in the country to realize their dreams, having in back of their that they have this reform act to hold on to them in case they fall. The effectiveness of the law is yet to be revealed and there is strong hope among the supporters that it will be the answer to the whole world for the question of universal health reform. Side Two: those who oppose health care reform (750 words) Introduction The Affordable Health Care Act attracted many people and it was termed as one of the best health policies the American government has proposed. At the same time, there were some people who opposed the health care reform. In other words, it had many opposers, almost equal to the numbers of supporters. The major reasons for oppositions are, people feel that this act will help only the families with lower income. They also feel that it would be of great benefit to the people who are not a part of any insurance scheme. Since people are not well informed about the act, they tend to oppose the reform. As the economic stability is still a question, people are hesitant to invest in any sort of insurance schemes. People, who are already covered under an insurance scheme, avoid investing in this act, as they feel it would not be any help them. Who opposes the act? The Health Reform Act was opposed many individuals, groups and activists. Even the Republicans and the US Chamber of Commerce opposed the health reform as it would not yield any benefit to the people who have an existing insurance coverage. (Doherty, 2010). The Republicans express their opinion to change the existing system as it increases the cost of insurance. The reason behind US Chamber of Commerce’s opposition towards health reform act is the insurance companies approached the Chamber to provide them with monetary funds. They instigated the Chamber to oppose Obama’s health reform act. This was carried out even before the act was implemented. A survey conducted among the citizens of America reveals that fifty percent of the American citizens oppose the health reform. Other Catholic groups and HMO’s also oppose the Affordable Health act as it does not provide them any new benefits. Individuals like Mike Huckabee are also against this health act and this slowed down the process of improvement. Why do they oppose it? The main reason why they oppose his health reform is, it is considered too costly when compared to the previous insurance policies. People who are employed in a multinational firm do not have the problem of insurance as the company helps them, but people who work with a normal company are the ones who are affected. Most of the Republicans feel there is a lack of quality in the services provided by the health reform act. As it concentrates only on the people who do not have an insurance cover, the efficiency of the act is lost. This act covers the uninsured and provides them with more benefits. (Kenneth, 2010). The supporters are satisfied with this health reform, where as the opposers feel that it has increased the cost and have complex procedures. Though it has tackled the problem of the previous reforms, it is still considered as a complex issue and people find it difficult to understand it. The people who oppose this reform express that this reform does not address the real problems. Another reason is it has made insurance less affordable for the poor people. The main aim of this scheme is to reduce the burden of poor people. But the benefits of this health reform have not been reaped. Due to the increase in the numbers of opposers, success seems to be a farfetched task. US Chamber of Commerce joined hands with insurance companies and opposed the health reform act. (Relman, 2010). The leading American companies showed their opposition by lending a helping hand to the Chamber of commerce. If the law is opposed and repealed how will it work? If the same situation continues, the government will be pushed to a situation where they need to modify the strategies to suit the present situation. If the law is repealed, it would work in a more efficient way as it would pave the way to easier access to insurance companies. Conclusion The opposers still continue to raise their oppositions through the media. In spite of the benefits, the Republicans and US Chamber of Commerce continue to exhibit their opposition. The reconciliation and negotiation will help the government to build a better plan that would be of great help to the people in America. Instead of targeting the only the poor people, the reform act must be modified to suit the people’s need. Side 3 Opposes because they say that the Act is unconstitutional (750 words) Introduction The Health Reform of 2010 went through several problems and the numbers of opposers are more when compared to the supporters. The Attorney generals and the National Federation are the major opponents of this new health reform and this created a rage among the people in America. This was considered as unconstitutional due to the pitfalls of this act. This reform was considered unconstitutional once it came into existence. When the law was introduced in America, the Attorney Generals expressed their opposition and this eventually contributed to the aversion towards this act. Due to the lack of essential features that would improve the previous health reform, this act was identified to be unconstitutional. The opposition parties also seemed to oppose and this was considered as a problem. Who think it’s unconstitutional America, as a whole is composed of several states which propose various plans or ideologies. Each of these states expresses this through the State Attorney Generals and they in turn approach the government with an idea of naming the act as unconstitutional. (Katz, 2010). The National Federation of Independent Businesses also thinks it’s unconstitutional as this reform does not address the basic needs of the citizens Why do they support it? The Florida Court Case on this issue is certainly an eye opener for people who support this reform. This case dealt with the nuances of this reform and highlighted the pros and cons of this reform. The role of American constitution played a major role in this case and the part of Federal government was also not commendable. The term unconstitutional referred to the way in which the Federal government dealt with these new reforms. (Brook, 2010). This case was filed opposing the health act and it aimed at highlighting the flaws of the American government. There are certain myths which revolve around the new health reform and this contributed to the existing problems. One of them is that businesses will not suffer because of health reform. The National Federation of Independent Businesses opposed this act because it affects the business. People involved in business had a tough time as they need to invest more in such health reform and insurance companies. The medical reimbursement and insurance scheme included in this act was composed of several conditions. People had only two options, either to accept it and pay a ransom amount or to exit from the entire medical coverage scheme. The cost of the program was more and people could not afford it and they did not have any other option, but to quit from this program. This led to a situation where people could not pay back their medical bills. The major reason for such problems was the lack of inclusion of the properties of the constitution. (Fried & Drickamer, 2010). The constitutional policies were revived and none of them were included in this health reform act and this eventually led to the failure of policies. (Fitzpatrick, 2010). The Florida court case is a perfect example which describes the problem behind this act. It enabled the people to have a complete outlook on the act’s advantages and disadvantages. If it is unconstitutional what will happen Though several sources reveal that the act is constitutional, the Attorney Generals of the states continue to pressurize the government regarding the change in the reform. (Fisher & Shortell, 2010). If the act is unconstitutional, the government must revive the act by including the constitutional policies. Researches and surveys reveal that this act is constitutional as it incorporates some of the Federal government’s direction and policies. If the act is unconstitutional the probability of problems are more. Since all the states will follow the same procedure, it is important that the act is constitutional. Conclusion People who oppose the Health Act feel it is unconstitutional. Though the Florida court case indicates that the act is unconstitutional it has not been declared to be unconstitutional. But people from National Federation of Independent Businesses continue to oppose this system. All the 26 states in America go through a tough time, as the Attorney generals do not agree with this health reform. Purchasing the health care insurance seems to be a day dream for the people who do not have a standard income. 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