Evaluation of American Healthcare - Report Example

Factionalism Evaluation Paper: american Healthcare Healthcare is an important issue which has been in the news since the election of Barack Obama, the first African-American president in the history of the United States of America. President Obama was elected on a promise to reform Washington and changed the way the United States operates both domestically as well as on the international stage. Seeking to make a variety of changes in the social, economic and political realms, President Obama has inherited a variety of challenges not the least of which is the healthcare system. Accordingly Obama has inherited an economic crisis with international ramifications, wars in Iraq as well as Afghanistan, and in American, a health care system which is in dire need of reform. The attempts by Pres. Obama to overhaul and reform the health care system of the United States have been controversial from the outset and healthcare remains a heated issue in the United States. Although it is still early on, President Obamas attempts to transform the American health care system have arguably been the most controversial aspects of his presidency. Seeking to understand the important issues with respect to healthcare in the United States, the following will explore the factional debates surrounding this timely and topical issue. This paper will describe the competition between elite groups and/or special interest groups in regard to related policy decisions and how the issue has been debated. Has the factionalism described contributed to a healthy debate regarding healthcare in America? Is James Madisons hope for checks and balances in the Constitution actually working? The following now turns to an introduction to liberal democracy, pluralism and the elite model of political behavior. A pluralist society is a characteristic of the United States of America. Importantly, pluralism and liberal democracy are important cultural values found in the United States as well as in other countries of the Western world. In contrast to the pluralism model, the elitist model exists and is predicated on the notion that political power is exercised through elites in a non-competitive and non-pluralist manner. Importantly, the United States is a liberal democracy with a strong tradition of a liberal and independent media, freedom of expression and healthy debate with respect to important issues affecting the nation. While the United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, it is also one of the few Western countries without universal healthcare. In the US health insurance exists to ensure that there is a financial means through which basic healthcare can be accessed by those who can afford it. Comprehensive individual health insurance plans are privatized and dependent upon an individuals age, his race or ethnicity, his residency, his employment status, and a variety of other factors. Medicare is a federally funded government insurance program for people who are disabled, persons above the age of 65 years old and people with permanent disabilities who are eligible for Social Security. For most individuals in the United States private healthcare is the only option and private healthcare plans supply the coverage one needs in order to pay for much-needed medical support. It should be noted that Medicare is only available to certain classifications of individuals and the present Obama administration is seeking to change that. What are the major factions in this debate and what do they have to say? (Health Insurance, 2009) Generally speaking, there are three different positions that form possible responses to the controversial United States national healthcare plan. In the United States, health insurance coverage ensures that there is financial means by which basic health care can be accessed. Individual comprehensive health insurance plans depend on an individuals’ age, level of employment, residency, and race/ethnicity. Medicare is a federal government funded insurance program for disabled young adults, persons above the age of 65, and those with permanent disabilities who become eligible for Social Security. A racial difference in coverage among Medicare beneficiaries has also been found to influence difference in supplemental care. Most individuals rely on private healthcare plans for the coverage that they need and the Obama administration is seeking to implement a single payer government system of healthcare as part of his reform package as opposed to market-based reform. Proponents of the healthcare overhaul argue that there are important disparities in access to healthcare and that the present system is not egalitarian. Accordingly, these people point out that certain groups of people do not receive the same level of care as others. The point out racial and ethnic disparities in access to healthcare and that African-Americans generally have poorer healthcare in this country and subsequently a lower life expectancy. Elites such as members of the Democratic Party in the United States and special interest groups such as Health Care for American NOW! would belong to this political faction (Smedley et al. 2003; Reuters, 2009). On the other side of the equation are others who are skeptical of the President’s healthcare plan. This includes elite groups as well as special interest groups such as undecided Republicans and skeptical journalists who are wary of the President’s measures with respect to healthcare in America. Viewing healthcare as an important issue in America but not one which requires a complete federally-funded overhaul, people in the middle understand President Obama’s desire to tackle issues but feel that the plan may be too heavy-handed. Accordingly, these people do not understand how a $1 trillion USD healthcare plan can be financed. The government argues that through reorganization of federal budgets and by cutting “waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government healthcare programs”, as well as ending government subsidies to private healthcare providers, the reform will finance itself. People in the middle are skeptical of this argument and feel that the reform will add significantly to the US deficit (White House, 2009). At the other end of the spectrum, those who are against President Obama’s plan see the $1 trillion USD transformation of healthcare as socialism and an attempt by Washington to meddle in the affairs of its citizens. Members of this political faction include Republican politicians such as Sarah Palin and the myriad of special interest groups such as Americans For Responsible Healthcare who have sprung up to contest any reform of the American healthcare system. There are many arguments against healthcare reform and they are tied to individual choice and freedom. Liberty is a basic concept in the United States which has been at the forefront of political thinking since the days of the founding fathers; the rights of the individual to choose should not be superseded by an activist government which seeks to limit choice and the options available to tax paying Americans. According to this line of thought, patients should have the right to choose their own doctors and their own healthcare plans. Standardizing healthcare throughout the country will only complicate matter, lessen choice and give more money to Big Brother to make choices for American citizens. Inefficiencies will result and people will die. Socialized medicine has not worked in Great Britain or Canada so why should we think that it will work here? According to this faction, it will not (BBC, 2009; Reuters, 2009). Concluding Remarks The issue of healthcare in America remains quite controversial and will continue to be controversial under the presidency of Barack Obama. Will healthcare in this country be universalized or will a two-tier system continue to reign supreme? The privatization of health care has led to the United States having one of the most advanced medical care systems in the world. Unfortunately medical care in the United States is very expensive and is also quite unevenly distributed. Research has shown that certain groups as well as people with less income faced significant disparities in the provision of health care. Health care inequalities in the United States are directly attributed to the fact that millions of Americans have poor health care coverage or none at all. The government of President Barack Obama has stepped in and is attempting to resolve some of the pertinent issues associated with an equal healthcare system. As the United States is pluralistic society which prides itself on being an open forum for discussion, the health care debate has highlighted the polarizing nature of this issue and the very different viewpoints with respect to Healthcare reform in the United States. As this paper has shown, much competition has occurred between elite groups and special interest groups with the end result being a healthy dialogue on this important issue. The factionalism above has indeed contributed to health debate regarding this important public policy issue and confirm that James Madisons checks and balances in the Constitution do in fact work to promote the general good for the people of the United States of America. References Health Insurance Reform. (2009). The White House. Last Accessed Feb 1, 2010 http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/ Obama vows to pass healthcare reform. (2009). Reuters. Wed Aug 5, 2009. Last Accessed Feb 1, 2010 http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56M0HE20090805 Leondhart, D. (October 18, 2006). A Lesson From Europe on Health Care. New York Times. Last Accessed Feb 1, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/18/business/18leonhardt.html?ex=1318824000&en=0d8e60c7cd0ec3db&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Protests over Obama health reform. (2009). BBC.com. Last Accessed Feb 1, 2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8252939.stm Smedley, B. D., A. Y. Stith, & A. R. Nelson (editors). 2003. Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press Read More