Healthcare reform dependent on the people’s choice of president
Posted on Oct 09, 2012 in News
Since the Supreme Court upheld key parts of the act in a decision on June 28, 2012, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, has been a topic of much debate. Washington had a partisan reaction to Supreme Court Justice John Robert’s landmark decision: Democrats hailed the act as a revolutionary step in our healthcare system and Republicans vowed to repeal it as soon as possible. The act will push everyone to obtain healthcare, and the government will subsidize those who cannot afford it. Obamacare seems to be bringing a positive change. Why would anyone oppose health care for all Americans? As always, politics plays a role.
Obama signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Wikimedia Commons
The largest problem opponents of Obamacare seem to have is the universal mandate to purchase health insurance. They see this mandate as the government infringing on the rights of citizen, a nefarious step towards socialism.
Both President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney agree that some degree of healthcare reform is necessary. The United States ranks 37th in the world in health care, according to the World Health Organization. In addition, medical bills are the number one reason of bankruptcy in America. Each Presidential candidates’ approaches to solving the issue, however, are different. Obviously, President Obama is responsible for creating Obamacare. He wants to eliminate evaluations of pre-existing conditions by insurance companies, limit the market power of the insurance industry, insure every American, and grant small businesses tax credits for insuring their employees. All of this will be run by the national government and funded by tax dollars. What most people do not realize is that this plan is modeled after Mitt Romney’s healthcare plan in Massachusetts, also known as “RomneyCare.” Ironically, Romney is the biggest advocate for repealing Obamacare. He opposes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because he believes that healthcare should be a state’s responsibility, not that of the national government.
So exactly how does Governor Romney intend to reform healthcare after appealing Obamacare? According to his website, he “will pursue policies that give each state the power to craft a health care reform plan that is best for its own citizens. The federal government’s role will be to help markets work by creating a level playing field for competition.” Hence, the Governor intends to have the states be in control of Obamacare, while somehow stimulating competition between insurance providers to ensure Americans receive the highest quality healthcare at the lowest price. Also, he wants Americans to be able to choose their health insurance provider. Yet, his plan does not offer detailed insight into how he will achieve this massive goal.
Both Obama and Romney want to reform healthcare and both have offered at least a general premise as to how they attempt to do so. Americans have the chance to choose their president, and as a result, their healthcare reform plan of choice, in about four weeks. Until then, the debates will continue on whether Obamacare should be repealed or continued.
Natasha Mehra
Contributor
nmehra16#uab.edu