The issue of health care reforms did not start when President Obama took office. The debate on healthcare has been ongoing. There have been many attempts in an attempt to bring revolutions in healthcare. The past efforts have failed in the past due to weak regimes, insufficient lobbying, differences in ideology and maybe the complexity of the issue. The issue of reforms was started in the 1800 but started being debated upon in the 1930s. The Great Depression was the most contributing factor that lead to the bringing up of this issue. This is because many people did not have employment and could not afford healthcare. There was therefore a need to have affordable healthcare.
The issue of health care reform has been taken differently by the Republicans and Democrats. Republicans believe that the healthcare reforms will meant that there will be more taxes that will be imposed for the wealthy in the society. They believe that it is the wealthy who create jobs invest. If they are heavily taxed, this will mean that they will no longer be able to create more jobs and invest. They state that if the program is to be introduced, then it should not eat into the hard work of the wealthy. This would be punishing the wealthy group in the society. Another view of the republicans is that the ideology is totally wrong. They believe that the government should not control the lives of citizens too much. They believe that individuals should work in order to get what they want in life. Another issue with republicans is that of deficit of American budget. They argue that healthcare reforms will be carried out at the expense of the already fleecing budget.
The views of the Democrats is that health care insurance is part of the promise for America that was made by the forefathers. They believe that each and every citizen should have access to quality healthcare. They believe that there should be no cancelation of coverage basing on family or gender issues. Another issue that they advocate is that healthcare should not be privatized. The senior Americans should not be made to pay more for the needy in the society. They believe that the less privileged in the society should be taken care of by all Americans. The third issue that the Democrats advocate for is that they advocate for wider coverage and reduced healthcare costs. They believe that many people should have access to healthcare at rates which are reduced and affordable (Brookham, 2006 73).
The congress are against the reforms that are being advocated in healthcare. They do not approve the approach that health care is being taken. This is something that is bringing some discord in the congress.
The past presidents of the United States have had varying opinions on healthcare reforms. Most presidents wanted to move away from state type of healthcare to a more comprehensive one that could be integrated with social security. Roosevelt and Truman failed to bring these implementations in the health care sector. This was because employers were giving better benefits and there was promises that it could get better with time. There was no cooperation with the big corporations and the reforms failed. President Clinton came up with the issue of reforms in the 1990s. He came up with The Health Security Act which was universal and the government would be tasked with running it. He argued that the costs would be cut down completely. Many people supported some part of the initiative of Clinton but waited for the parts they did not like to be changed before fully supporting it. Under President Obama, there are still issues that need to be addressed in the healthcare reforms. There are strides that have been made in reforms. The Obama administration have succeeded to enable people not to be excluded from any coverage because of conditions which are preexisting.
The majority of the public have been seen to be in support of these reforms in healthcare. They prefer that the government should be involved in healthcare provisions. There should be some involvement of the government in these matters that regard healthcare. Many polls that have been carried out show that the public prefer to have national insurance coverage as when compared to that of Medicare. Quinnipiac opinion poll showed that many people were of the opinion that the government should carry on with their plan to ensure that everyone got healthcare coverage.
Healthcare The task of enabling every individual in a country to access quality health care is one of the most challenging tasks of any government, now more than ever before. The excessive pricing in pharmaceutical companies and the unending interference by insurance companies serves to compound the already complex problem. Health care policy has therefore grown to be a complex phenomenon with several of conflicting actors. A myriad of ill-informed policies grafted by government technocrats often end up failing to assure health care services for all its citizens. Many countries currently face difficulties in their health care policy. It is quite possible to reduce health care spending without adversely affecting the provision of health care services (Brookham, 2006).
It is quite clear that significant changes in health care policy are mandatory failing which rising costs for health care will ultimately lead to government spending growing much faster than the economy, a phenomenon which may not be sustainable under government budget. The US health care system, for instance is facing substantial trouble. According to Karen Davis (2009), millions of aging baby boomers in the US demand more from the already strained health system, it is imperative that a high performance system of healthcare that is affordable, equitable, safe, efficient, and patient-centered be adopted.
Many experts contend that a considerable share of spending on health care contributes little if anything to the overall health of the nation. These implies that substantial reductions in health care spending can be undertaken without having any adverse effect on the general health care program. Additionally, many experts are in agreement on general directions in which government health policies should move which typically involve changes in the incentives and information that patients and doctors have when making decisions about health care.
However, significant reductions in health care spending can only be achieved alongside elementary changes in the way the government finances and delivers health care (Kent, 2003). Payment policies should be transformed by the government in the health care programs. Additionally, significant limitation of the current tax subsidy for health insurance will see the government drastically reduce its health care spending. These approaches could directly lower government spending on health care and indirectly lower private spending on it as well. Many of the specific changes though, that could ultimately prove most important are unforeseeable at the moment and could be developed only over time through practice and learning. However, this is not to say that modest efforts cannot be advantageous in enabling policymakers to weigh the success or otherwise of their policies (Brookham, 2006).
In conclusion, therefore, a broad long-term approach for reform that is currently drawing great interest is to merge specific policy actions that generate short-term savings. These would then provide understanding for future savings-with a framework to enforce ongoing policy measures for achieving greater efficiency in the delivery of health care. The effectiveness of these recommendations will at the end of the day depend on the willingness of policymakers to maintain considerable and methodical pressure over time and will require tough, often complex choices to be made. Without significant reforms, the efficient health care provision in terms of coverage, quality and lower costs will forever remain evasive.
Immigration
With the number of immigrants to the United States reaching the highest points, the debates reading the issue of immigration has been the most heated. There are questions as to whether the immigrants that come to the United States today go on welfare. The extent to which immigration will continue changing the ethnic and political landscape of the United States continue to raise a lot of concern. There are several laws that have been put in place to ensure that immigration laws are updated and serve a good purpose (Briggs, 73).
Immigration to the United States has been issue that has been ongoing. It started in the days of slavery. The immigrations to the United States has been seen to come from all corners of the world. There has been varying opinions and attitudes both politically and publicly towards immigrants. The first restrictions that were introduced in the United States were placed on the illiterates, Chinese, Irish, and paupers.
President Obama advocates for strict laws concerning immigration. Under his administration, Obama has managed to deport over one million illegal immigrants to the United States. He believes that there should be some reforms when it comes to immigration. Immigration policies should be looked into. Compared to Bush and Clinton, Obama’s stand on immigrations can be said to be on a hard stance. Obama is hard on illegal immigrations and many are being sent home for failing to follow the right procedure.
The congress advocates for strict adherence to procedures when entering United States. The belief that there should be strict control of the border. The Congress agree that the United States border should have more strict measures to curb immigration.
The Supreme Court supports various immigration acts. The Arizona Act was trimmed by the Supreme Court. They believe that the immigrants should be checked by a police officer to confirm the immigration status.
The democrats believe that there is a need to secure the borders so that illegal immigrants are dealt with. They advocate that the border should be well guarded. Another issue is that of taking care of workers’ rights by vetting manufacturing firms to ensure that the working conditions are in order. Democrats also believe that illegal immigrants should own up their crimes.
Republicans back current immigration rules like Dream Act and Arizona acts. Arizona act requires that we get involved about the immigration process.
Works Cited
Briggs, Vermon. American unionism and U.S. immigration policy. Center for Immmigrationm for Immigration Studies.
Brookham, L.J. (2006). A discourse on health care policies in the USA. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Bush, Jeb, McLarty, Thomas. U. S. Immigration Policy: Independent Task Force Report. New York: Council of Foreign Relations. 2009.
Karen, D. (2009). The American health care system. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
