National Health Care Reform -- the History, the Proposal, the Policy Process, the Path from President Obama to Congress into Law, and the Political Fallout.
National Health Care Reform
The health care legislation was first introduced to the American public in the first half of the twentieth century, with presidents Roosevelt and Truman expressing their desire to establish such a plan. In spite of the fact that both the democratic and republican administrations in charge of the U.S. In the recent decades have dedicated some of their efforts to supporting health care programs, it seems that matters got worse and Americans started to lobby in order for the health care system to be reformed. Barack Obama's administration appears to be just what people wanted when concerning health care, as it took action so as to improve health care, making it possible for numerous Americans to enjoy medical insurance.
Taking into consideration that health care bills go back as early as the first half of the twentieth century, it is surprising that the legislation has not reached a level where it can present all Americans with satisfying services. Whether they were democrats, or whether they were republicans, most U.S. presidents failed at proposing an effective health care bill.
As it is normal in the world of politics, certain individuals did not realize that their scheme was impossible to put into practice and only succeeded in harming their reputation by suggesting a series of strategies that they thought would better condition. "President Bill Clinton offered the most ambitious proposal and suffered the most spectacular failure" (Health Care Reform 2010). It gradually became clear that it was much more to an effective health care legislation than impressive words and plans.
At the time when he became president, Obama was responsible for getting the U.S. out of the mess it got itself into by 2008. Certainly, in addition to the impressive speeches that he was required to perform in order to enforce his image, it was absolutely necessarily for his strategies to be effective, since the general seemed reluctant to accept its position.
Shortly after his election, Obama put across his ideas relating to health care and to how it should be transformed. Apparently, he wants the health care in the U.S. To be reformed over a period of approximately ten years, during which hundreds of billions of dollars are predicted to be spent with the aim of providing health care services to those who are presently deprived of it.
Aware of the fact that he would receive limited support from Republicans in his attempt to reform health care, Obama did not hesitate to make his proposal public, nor did he attempt to lessen the impact that his plans would have on Congress. Although it was certain that Congress could not simply agree to his plans right away, Obama's speeches surely made it clear that he would have no rest until he would succeed in cutting health costs and expanding the sphere of influence concerning health care.
While the U.S. Congress has shown some reluctance in agreeing to Obama's health care plans, there were isolate cases when members of the Senate went as far as publicly offending the president as a result of his claims. Such is the case of Joe Wilson, a South Carolinian Republican, who called Obama a liar consequent to the president's statement regarding the issue of illegal immigrants.
Divergences between Republicans and Democrats are expected to end in chaos rather than to materialize into a deal on the topic of health care. It is difficult to foresee how Obama's efforts to keep health care one of his top priorities (regardless of the costs involved) will eventually turn out.
The health care reform is mainly intended to provide assistance to the lower classes, considering that they are among the least people in the U.S. To enjoy health care. Most Republicans were unwilling to support the U.S. president is his struggle to reform the health care legislation.
One of the main reasons for the behavior displayed by certain Republicans is the fact that it is generally believed among Republicans that the new health care legislation will require costs that will devastate the country's economy.
Even with their reluctance to agree to Obama's health care strategy, Republicans proved to be supportive for a reform in health care. Furthermore, some have come up with measures meant to improve the president's plan and lessen the risks faced by the economy. Republicans are against the concept of obliging employers to provide insurance to their employees, since they too agree that this would only bring on an unnecessary burden the country would have to deal with.
Even with the discrepancies between the health...
Workers who are not skilled normally work for low wages, thus making them less interested in spending money on health care insurance. As a result, a large number of individuals in the U.S. are currently uninsured and will remain so until their employers decide that they should get actively engaged in supporting the new health bill. Employers feel hesitant to accept to pay insurance for their employees because they are afraid that they risk losing money out of the process.
However, if they were to consider the profits they can get out of sustaining the health bill, they will surely realize that it is not detrimental for them to do so.
The general public in the U.S. is uncertain whether or not it should support the new health care reform, mainly because they are not aware of the benefits that it involves. This is due to the confusion created by previous health care legislations, when it was not certain who is in charge of health care and the role one has to have in order to benefit from it.
The long-term insurance strategy implemented by the government partly refers to working adults, claiming that these people will be able to have their insurance paid directly from their paychecks, if their managers will agree to the health care plan. People who were previously forced to stay in their homes with no one to help them because of their health conditions and because of their social status will receive a series of benefits from the new health care legislation.
More and more people will profit from the recently implemented health care bill, as this legislation will be less restrictive in comparison to the previous one. Elderly people are now able to perform various tasks in which they could not get involved up to that time, such as paying a nurse to take care of them or buying medicine that they could not previously afford.
While the president is currently dealing with one of the nation's top priorities, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, he is concomitantly trying to support the health care bill proposed by his administration. His determination to the health care legislation can also be observed through the fact that he cannot attend important meetings because he is struggling to provide Americans with a well-organized bill.
"Health Care Reform," New York Times,
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/health_insurance_and_managed_care/health_care_reform/index.html?scp=1&sq=President%20Harry%20S.%20Truman%20proposed%20a%20national%20health%20care&st=cse
Idem
" Barack Obama," New York Times,
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?scp=6&sq=obama%20health%20care%20proposal&st=cse
Idem
Sheryl Gay Stolberg & Jeff Zeleny, "Obama, Armed With Details, Says Health Plan Is Necessary ," New York Times,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/us/politics/10obama.html?scp=1&sq=congress%20response%20obama%20health%20care%20%20plan%20&st=cse
Carl Hulse, "In Lawmaker's Outburst, a Rare Breach of Protocol," New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/us/politics/10wilson.html?scp=1&sq=%E2%80%9CYou%20lie!%E2%80%9D%20Representative%20Joe%20Wilson%20of%20South%20Carolina%20&st=cse
Sheryl Gay Stolberg & David M. Herszenhorn, "Obama's Health Bill Plan Largely Follows Senate Version," New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/health/policy/23health.html
Robert Pear, "Study Points to Health Law's Penalties," New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/health/policy/24health.html?scp=6&sq=congress%20health%20care%20may%202010&st=cse
Idem
Paul Krugman, "Why Americans hate single-payer insurance," New York Times, http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/why-americans-hate-single-payer-insurance/?scp=7&sq=health%20care%20the%20single%20payer%20issue&st=cse
Robert Pear, "Health Insurance Companies Try to Shape Rules," New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/health/policy/16health.html
Robert Pear, "Study Points to Health Law's Penalties," New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/health/policy/24health.html?scp=6&sq=congress%20health%20care%20may%202010&st=cse http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/why-americans-hate-single-payer-insurance/?scp=7&sq=health%20care%20the%20single%20payer%20issue&st=cse
Peter Baker, "As Oil Slips Away, So Do Chances for Obama," New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/us/politics/03memo.html?scp=3&sq=obama health care plan&st=cse
