President Obama's Health Care Plan - Research Paper Example

President Obama's Health Care Plan President Obama after taking charge has introduced many sweeping reforms for assisting the citizens of the United States of America for leading to the improvements in their quality of life and living. The Health Care Reform was one such plan which was put forward by the President and enacted in the year 2010. The purpose of this plan was basically to expand the availability of health care services for the residents of the United States as the medical expenses had become a major issue in the country. 45 million nationals in the United States which also included 8 million children were not covered by any insurance for their health. Not only this, many health disease and pathologies have been on the rise in the country with many people being vulnerable to develop life hampering diseases. Obesity is one such condition which can increases the risk for the development of other health issues and it is on the rise in the country. Despite of this, proper preventive measures and screening have not been available in the country to regularly screen the high risk groups for diseases like cancer and to provide vaccination to people for diseases that can be prevented from occurring like flu. The irregularities in the health expenses could be seen by the fact that only 4 cents out of one dollar of the health care services is actually utilized for the community health purpose and preventive medicine. It was in this scenario that the President called for the Health Care Plan to provide proper healthcare to the Americans. The health care plan is to initiate from the year 2011 and the complete implementation of all the objectives will be completed by the year 2018. The major objective of the health care plan was to actually provide proper health care to all individuals in the United States of America. As stressed by the President the issues pertaining to health care have increased in the USA in the recent years. Proper care is not provided to the health of the individuals living in the USA because of which these individuals suffer in the long term to maintain their health. In particular the health care reforms refer to the insurance policies that the individuals have or should have. As put forward by the President the reforms can be outlined as to provide individuals more benefits regarding their current health insurance policy, providing insurance policies to those who are devoid of it and lower the costs of insurance policies with relation to the general sectors of the community. The main features of the plan outlaid were that it would assure the individuals of the proper coverage by the insurance policy i.e. their insurers would not be able to let down the insurance by taking away their coverage in the times when it would be needed the most. Moreover a person who has a history of diseases would also be provided coverage by the insurance companies. Thus it would mean that the insured would be given enough leniencies so that they are able to get rid of their illness and diseases through proper medical care. This was because the insurance had actually started turning down individuals on the basis of the fact that they had previous illnesses. Secondly the reform laid out plans to provide the non-insured group of people with proper coverage by the insurance companies. This would be done by creating a competitive market for these groups thus it would lead to reduced prices for these groups. And lastly the reforms put forward a scheme because of which it would be mandatory for all the individuals living in the USA to have a health care plan. The small businesses would also be liable to pay for the health coverage of their workers unless they are exempted by the special criteria of narrow profit margins. The health care system has major plans towards increasing the quality of health care that is provided in the country by investing more in the information technology system of the health department so that electronic records are maintained and errors can be avoided. The health care plan is directed towards basically enhancing the quality of care that is provided to the patients rather than enhancing the number of services provided. The funding for this health care plan has been based on two ways. 630 billion dollars is the estimated amount that would be required for the financing of this plan over the 10 years. It has been analyzed that this financing would be based upon the initial funding by the Senate from the revenue and then by the amount that would be saved over the years due to the imposition of taxes as well as the enhanced effectiveness of the health care plan with decreased loop holes. The health care plan consists of applying of taxes to insurance companies as well as to families residing in the United States who earn amount above 250,000 dollars per year or single individuals who earn more than $200, 000 per year. Also another additional tax involves the 10 percent tax on the services of tanning which are utilized. The health care plan put forward by the president will be of the greatest help for the people who basically work in small offices irrespective of the fact whether they are offered insurance by the employees or not. This is because according to the plan, there would be lower costs of health care insurance provision for small firms which have lesser number of employees and they would also be provided with a tax credit and hence this factor would be of help to the employees and hence they would work towards providing insurance to their workers. Another benefit is the fact that healthcare insurance would be provided to people irrespective of the fact that their employers are providing for their insurance or not and they will not be charged excessively. The health care plan will also be of assistance for people who suffer from many medical conditions which makes it difficult for them to attain treatment. Also the elderly would receive major benefits from these plans and people with very low incomes would also be able to achieve proper healthcare which is their right. This is because the health care insurance will not be biased on the fact that the insured individual requires more treatment measures as he suffers from more diseases. The affordability factor will also be counted for the low income individuals and the elderly and hence the health care plan will work towards providing health insurance to the maximum number of people. The plan also works towards providing a temporary reinsurance program for the individual who attain have recently attained retirement. This applies from the age of 56 to 64 and works towards assisting employers in maintaining the insurance of their workers. This healthcare plan will also benefit families as they will be provided the benefit of keeping their children insured in their plans till the age of 26 years. Thus young adults will also be provided coverage till 26 years and this will also work towards the goal of this plan which is to insure the maximum number of people. Thus this healthcare plan will basically work towards providing healthcare and benefits to the maximum number of people in the country. It has been argued that the health care plan which has been proposed by the President will actually result in the low quality of health care that will be provided to the individuals. It has been presented that since the competition in the market would be reduced with regard to the insurance, this would lead to decreased quality of health care for people. This is not only restricted to the treatment provided in the hospitals but also with regard to the fact of the medicines provided would be on discounted rates and hence there would be reduction in competition and fewer incentives for the pharmaceutical companies to research on providing for new medicines and drugs. As most of the hospitals would be under the government insurance plan, the health care service quality would also reduce. Rationing of health care is also another consequence that is expected from this health care plan. This is because it is believed that the since health care would be available to all individuals and the number of people who would gain access to health would increase, the options and availability of more sources of treatment would reduce and despite of the fact that people who would be affording would have difficulties in accessing the best forms of treatment modalities for themselves. Though this plan was termed towards providing healthcare to all, it has been estimated that this healthcare plan can serve to be very expensive on the accounts of the government and no definitive cost can be provided for it. The taxes have been increase for the single people earning above $200,000 and for families earning above $250,000. It has been proposed that this plan will actually reduce the insurance cost for the maximum number of people. The employers of small firms have been benefited with tax credit. On the other hand, large firms which do not provide for insurance for their workers will have to increase their payrolls. The consumers will benefit from this plan because it has been calculated that this plan will lead to an overall reduction in the costs of the insurance provided. The cost for the insurance companies would rise owing to the fact that 85 cents out of every dollar of health care would need to be utilized for provision of health and other rules which include providing for the health care to all will result on an increased cost burden on the insurance companies. The health care plan has received different reactions from the doctors. Many doctors consider the fact that this plan will lead to a reduction in their salaries and less options for increments. Also the number of patients that they would need to cater would increase and this would result in reduced quality of patient care. A group of doctors have supported the plan owing to the fact that it would lead to the good of a greater number of patients. Hospitals are considered to achieve major benefits from this plan as it would result in a greater influx of patients due to the lower cost of insurance and hence greater profit for the hospitals. The healthcare consumers who are insured and uninsured will benefit from this plan owing to the fact that the cost of insurance would be reduced and this would assist many in achieving health care. Certain uninsured groups have disapproved of the plan owing to the fact that they would be fined for not getting insured and insurance is not beneficial to them since they would pay the amount and they do not require such insurances due to maintenance of proper health. The employers have also disapproved of the plan because it has led to an increase in their financial burdens due to the strict policy for providing healthcare to all. The health insurance companies have also not highly supported the plan due to the decreased profits and increased spending on their part. The health care plan which has been proposed by President Obama, works towards providing healthcare to all the individuals, irrespective of the fact that whether they are suffering from any previous illness or they cannot afford proper treatment for themselves. Hence it works towards removing any bias towards the provision of healthcare. It is an expensive plan and has been met by criticism from the insurance companies, employers as well as some doctors. But what is far more important, is the social good and the equality of all. Along with this health care is the right of every individual and it is the duty of the state to provide for this. In addition to this plan, it is important for the government to increase the incentive for the doctors as well as the pharmaceutical companies so that the quality of health care also remains stabilized and is not affected. Thus it is a plan which works toward increasing health aid to the people of the United States and hence it should be supported. References Top of Form Barrett, J. P. (January 01, 2008). Change: President Obama's health plan. Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association, 49, 12, 377-9. Bottom of Form Top of Form Blakely, S. (January 01, 2010). Employers, workers, and the future of employment-based health benefits. Ebri Issue Brief / Employee Benefit Research Institute, 339, 1-23. Bottom of Form Top of Form Bybee, R. (March 21, 2009). Can we have universal health care?. Dissent, 56, 2, 63-69. Bottom of Form Top of Form NEWS ANALYSIS - Cost of Obama E-health Plan Could Reach $100B - President Obama's plan to create a national health records system may cost twice as much as he estimated -- But it could ultimately cut health care costs by $300 billion a year. (January 01, 2009). Computerworld, 43, 5, 12. Bottom of Form Top of Form Zajac, J. D. (January 01, 2009). President Obama's health care plan. The Medical Journal of Australia, 191, 2.) Bottom of Form Read More