Political Science
Politics Stream
The lack of government response after the passage of Affordable Act of 2010 (ACA) is in relation to the insufficiency of the government funding to provide long-term care for all U.S. citizens. The best way to address this issue is by implementing policies to lower the costs of healthcare and make it economical for all (Patel & Rushefsky, 2014). The actors that are involved in this issue are the Democrats and the Republicans. The competing values and philosophies of policy actors of the Democrats and Republicans sought different actions. On the part of the Democrats, they have fully supported ACA since they believe that health care coverage should not only be limited to adult and children with disabilities and the elderly suffering from various diseases. They have continuously endeavored to eliminate the current barriers such as cultural, social and economic concerns as well as the political factors that control the allocation of budget which intended to cover only the medical needs of the minority population. The high cost of insurance premiums made health care policies beyond the reach of an average working citizen (Patel & Rushefsky, 2014). Thus, the Democrats support the ACA for they argued that it is beneficial for the middle class Americans for it provides them the health security they deserve. The new healthcare system promotes the mandatory contribution of consumers to pay for their health care and to allow flexibility to meet the demands of the people by implementing the uniform financial eligibility criteria, regardless of financial status. Although the Republicans initially opposed the law since it is considered as a government overreach, they propose to retain the employer-sponsored insurance wherein the employers must finance a reasonable share of the cost of the health insurance (Patel & Rushefsky, 2014). With the enactment of ACA, many of the uninsured Americans shall now have access to subsidies that will make health insurance coverage more affordable. Majority of the health coverage plans that are available in the market provide the essential health benefits. At the same time, the purpose of the ACA is to guarantee that businesses will choose low-cost plans for their employees and the imposition of an excise tax based on the plans that are above $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families that shall take effect until January 1, 2018. Since the U.S. government has been affected by global crises that resulted to recession, it failed to provide health care insurance for all its citizens, regardless of age (Jacobs & Skocpol, 2012).
On the part of the Republicans, they oppose the Obama Care on the premise that the health care cost will increase and the insurance premiums will rise (Adamy, 2010). In effect, the Republicans argued that the quality of healthcare will be compromised. In addition, the taxes will increase to a projected $570 billion, resulting to additional $500 debt for the government (Holtz-Eakin, 2010). The Republicans also claim that the projected savings of Obama Care is unrealistic.
When President Barak Obama signed the new healthcare law known as the “patient protection Affordable Care Act” in 2010 (Parks, 2011), it extended the health insurance coverage to several uninsured Americans to guarantee the affordability of the coverage. The Democrats supported the new healthcare law which sought to eliminate the budget deficit of the government and to broaden the coverage of U.S. healthcare. The proposed reforms will be beneficial for the consumers, employers, insurers, hospitals, healthcare providers, drug companies, and also Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries (Parks, 2011, p. 13). The program aims to be fully operational for the next 10 years and shall end in 2019. The ACA addressed the problem of minorities including the Hispanic and African families who are based in the United States for several decades (Patel & Rushefsky, 2014). Statistics show that these minority families and their children are underinsured and 31 percent of them are mostly Hispanics (Murdock, 2012, p. 112).
The current economic culture of ACA has resulted to overspending of the government due to illegal immigrants. The Obama administration made a recent announcement last September 15, 2014 of its plans to terminate health insurance of at least 115,000 individuals that shall take effect on October 1st of 2014 for failure to establish their American citizenship or to prove that they are legal immigrants eligible for ACA coverage (Pear, 2014). Some of these immigrants also stand to lose financial aid due to failure to conduct income verification.
Policy Stream
One of the possible policy alternative or solution to the problem on America’s healthcare system is the national health insurance model, typified by the Canadian systems (Patel & Rushefsky, 2014). In this model, the facilities and workers are private, wherein there is only a single taxpayer which is the government, which is tasked to collect the taxes, in the form of premiums, and pays the health care providers. Under the single-payer health care system, it is the government which shall pay for all the health care costs, rather than the private insurers. There are several countries around the world that implement single-payer health insurance programs in order to provide a universal health care for all. This is being implemented in countries like United Kingdom and Canada, wherein they hired physicians, manage the hospitals, and buy healthcare services from outside organizations. Another model is called the out-of-pocket model which has no public system and it will be the people who shall pay for their own healthcare if they have the means to pay for it (Patel & Rushefsky, 2014). The single-payer health care system is being practiced in Denmark, Sweden, and Canada wherein there is only a single payer that finances the health care of the citizens. There is only one entity to charge the hospital bills and it is the government. The collection of funds and the reimbursement shall be the sole responsibility of the government. Unlike in the U.S., there is joint responsibility of the private insurance industry that deals with the collection of premiums and other payments from individuals and businesses. Currently, the U.S. government also collects taxes from individuals and businesses since it has multiple entities to bill for there are several private insurance companies in place.
Policy Proposals
On the part of the Democrats, they are in favor of the national health insurance plan or the public sector program. On the other hand, the Republicans have opposed the comprehensive plans and resisted the expansion of current programs including the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Medicaid. Financing health care is the driver to achieving reform. The Democrats favor the programs that expand the role of the government, but the Republicans pursue the plans that rely more on the private sector (Patel & Rushefsky, 2014). It is also best to consider the proposal of the Republicans in focusing on cost controls and market mechanisms. Although the Republicans continuously oppose the ACA or the Obama Care, they also want Americans to purchase private plans for those who can afford it. The main challenge is how to balance quality health services at a lower cost, at the same time, not destroying the economy of the health care industry and providers. The U.S. government has the capability to solve the problem on health care as intelligently and realistically as possible, by not compromising on its fiscal responsibility. The best approach is to provide patient care and to stand up for the best interest of the patients.
Another issue is that the healthcare benefit does provide coverage for non-emergency care of illegal immigrants that require medical consultation and outpatient care. Due to the inaccurate data on health care costs spent on these illegal immigrants, it is recommended that hospitals and community health centers to require the declaration of the patient’s legal status. The current emergency healthcare that is provided by Medicaid is under the federal-state program available to indigent and disabled persons.
The objective of ACA is to provide medical insurance to 30 million Americans, representing 10 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 30 percent of its economy (Tribe, 2012). Hence, it bears to stress the importance of successful business management that needs to run effectively, efficiently and profitably. Another concern is that placing health care in the hands of the federal government is another cause for concern which may run the risk of being managed efficiently and demands accountability.
The topic on the new health care system was identified as a problem of the nation that aims to educate the citizens of their benefits under the ACA and the limitations in availing the services. The health insurance companies and health care providers should implement uniform guidelines in the access of health care services of consumers, insurers, and hospitals. The best model of health care system should provide easy access and focus on preventive care. Health care services must be available for every citizen and must not only be limited to the indigent, elderly, disabled and minority population. The government should guarantee universal access of health care for the people and enforce a reward system to encourage them to actively participate in paying for their healthcare and pay their dues in a timely manner.
References:
Adamy, J. (2010). Health Outlays Still Seen Rising. New York Times.com. Web. 29 September
2014.
Jacobs, L. R. and Skocpol, T. (2012). Health Care Reform and American Politics: What
Everyone Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press.
Holtz-Eakin, D. (2010). The Real Arithmetic of Health Care Reform. New York Times.com
Web. Retrieved on 29 September 2014.
Murdock, K. (2012). Affordable Care Act. Scholarly Research Paper. USA: Grin.
Parks, D. (2011). Health Care Reform Simplified. New York: Apress Publishing.
Patel, K. & Rushefsky, M. E. (2014). Healthcare Politics and Policy in America. New York:
M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
Pear, R. (2013). Republicans Refuel Effort to Cripple Health Care Law. New York Times.com.
Web. September 25, 2014.
Pear, R. (2014). U.S. to End Coverage Under Health Care Law for Tens of Thousands. New York
Times.com. Web. September 25, 2014.
Tribe, L. H. (2012). The Constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:
Swimming in the Stream of Commerce. Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
35(3), p.821-1014.
