Government Health Care - Term Paper Example

President Obama's (Controversial) Universal HealthCare Plan "Obama's Health Care Plan Builds on Others' Ideas" Rupert Pear and Jackie Calmes, 9th September, 2009 in New York Times "Health is Wealth" is a common saying. Health is one of the top indicators of a nation's potential for growth in terms of GDP, NNP and other financial indicators. President Obama must have had the economic and overall well-being of the country when he made the Universal Healthcare Plan public and spoke about it in the Congress on 9th September 2009.

While the subject was close to Obama's heart during the election campaign, almost an year ago, there have been many ambiguities in it and definite guidelines need to be drawn yet on the actual plan. The above report in NYT, feels that the President is building on others' ideas.There are a few grey areas about the political motives, ramifications on the insurance agencies and the cost of the plan to the government exchequer. While the discussions have been going on since last winter, support for his plan seems to have been gradually coming down.

There are various versions of the plan, The Republicans having their own version of the health care Bill, giving more room for a mixed plan.An obvious loophole is that if Mr. Obama wants to fulfill his promise of providing universal coverage for all Americans, insurance fee would have to be lowered to cover all income groups. This lowered cost may in turn force lawmakers to reduce the subsidies needed to help more uninsured individuals and small businesses seeking coverage for employees.The "deficit trigger" borrows on the original idea suggested by David M.

Cutler, an economist at Harvard University, which endorses a budget mechanism to automatically reduce the increase in Medicare (a government insurance scheme for senior citizens) spending, if health care overhaul does not produce the savings that the administration and many health care experts expect.The estimated cost of the plan being $900 billion number suggests a political and fiscal calculation to avoid the sticker shock of the trillion-dollar threshold. Just like the tag of $999 at an electronics goods shop, the $ 900 billion would have a positive impact on the citizens and media, I am sure.

The idea of taxing health insurance companies for their "most expensive" policies seems to have been borrowed from Senator John Kerry's original idea. Kerry felt that if employers were to buy cheaper, less generous coverage for employees, it would reduce excessive use of medical services.Another controversial idea is the option of allowing the government to start a new insurance program to compete with private players. To this effect, some Senators feel that an alternative would be setting up of non profit insurance cooperatives to administer the plan.

That he will anyways go ahead with the plan is clear by the speech. 'At stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country,' " the president said, quoting the letter that Senator Ted Kennedy, a leading advocate for health care reform, wrote in May and asked to be delivered after his death.A point that has been again and again emphasized in the article is that while a lot has been said about the Universal health plan and streamlining existing medical care under insurance companies, there have been no concrete guidelines for such a legislature to be acted.

Perhaps, it is political astuteness to borrow from many people's ideas and reveal the masterplan at the appropriate time, maybe just at the time when it is discussed in the Houses. After all, knowledge grows when it is spread and every individual, whether a Democrat or a Republican, or their supporters will benefit from the new health insurance plan.References:Pear,Rupert & Calmes, Jackie Obama's Health Care Plan Builds on Others' Ideas9th September,2009http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/health/policy/10health.html4. Cutler, David M, Delong J.

Bradford & Marciarille Ann Marie. Why Obama's Health Plan Is Better .16th September,2008.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122152292213639569.html5.Ruberry, John. LA Times: Obama short on details on health care plan. 10th September,2009.http://marathonpundit.blogspot.com/2009/09/la-times-obama-short-on-details-on.html6.Levey, Noam N. "Obama avoids the details on divisive issues to keep his healthcare goals on track" 10th September,2009.http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-health-assess10-2009sep10,0,3719627.story