Obama’s Health Care Reform
Much debate has risen with the recent signing of Barack Obama’s Health Care Bill. Words like government control and socialism were thrown as a description of the new legislation. People fear that such system threatens to destroy the free market economy and will take away people’s right to choose. Republicans have openly accused Obama’s Bill as a try to implement a government-run health care system (CBS Article 20 July 2009). In other words the government would decide for the patients and the doctors. They have repeatedly said that this bill is constitutionally questionable and the government does not have the right to obligate the whole nation to buy health insurance. According to the opposition the president is lobbing for disguised tax on employment and consequently the number of uninsured people will increase.
In defend of the legislation Obama said that it will extend the health coverage to additional 32 million people and will decrease the expenses significantly. The legislation is based on government mandates, regulations and subsidies. It will obligate employers to provide medical care for their employees, parents to provide health care for their children and for insurers to accept all applicants regardless of their conditions or preexisting ones. This legislation would not drive America to socialism; instead it will resolve most of the problems with the current health system.
For years, Democratic US presidents have tried and failed to provide universal health care coverage. Nowadays, 47 million or 15.4% US residents lack health care insurance. (Kaiser Family Foundation Report 2009) The percentage may look like a small fraction but when you add the 21% of people that are underinsured the result is that more than one-forth of the American people can’t afford the needed health care, which is one of the main problems with health care now. In addition, greater prevalence of chronic deceases has increased the...