The result is a tremendous amount of pressure on the president and a reigning fear in the public that he will be forced to capitulate. There are indications from the Obama Administration that the crucial nature of this issue has produced a distinct urgency in terms of passing some system overhaul. Indeed, this discussion generally supports this idea that there is an imperative to act in intervention of a wildly undesirable healthcare scenario. Thus, the nature of this legislation remains uncertain, and those who have desired the establishment of a public option and its promotion of social welfare goals may yet be bitterly disappointed. (MSNBC News Service, 1)
All indications are the severely compromised versions of the public option being pushed through Congress would also force the public to dramatically scale down its expectations. As reported by Whitesides (2009), there is a moderated version of the healthcare bill that is projected to assisted roughly 3 or 4 million Americans, a far cry from the 46 million reported in the same article. Whitesides also reports that non-partisan budget analysis projects a greater cost in premiums by a slight margin for public plans than for those provided by private companies. (Whitesides, 1) There are deep flaws here which reflect an attempt to sabotage the public option.
The contest between Obama and the Republican Party finds a fairly progressive presidency attempting to take on the healthcare system's current failures against the will of its small core of wealth opportunists. This helps to point to one of the greatest arguments in favor of the establishment of a national healthcare system, which is its overwhelming economic burden on Americans and on American companies outside of the healthcare industry. Indeed, cost increases have been so unnaturally discordant with the pact of the economy that the healthcare industry is in particular headed toward crisis mode. In the direction that the healthcare industry is going right now, "U.S. health care spending is expected to increase at similar levels for the next decade reaching $4 trillion in 2015, or 20% of GDP (2)." (Simmons, 2006, p. 1) This hurts the consumer more than anybody else. In many ways, these costs have already hurt many Americans and have already effected the cost of living. However, it is clear that it will probably get much worse without timely and truly reforming legislation. As the retirement population grows to a size that is larger than the American workforce, which many experts say will happen by about the same year as mentioned above, the industry could go through a serious depression.
The dedication of American public funds to a healthcare system that possesses the resources to cover most Americans, to hire sufficient workforce populations and to maintain high quality facilities is a clear necessity to the public good. And with respect to those who would oppose a transition such as that proposed by the Obama bill, it is useful to note that the rise in America's healthcare costs has not been natural. By looking at some of the facts related the overall economy to the industry being discussed, it becomes clearer that there is an unnatural inflation to costs. This is making hospital stays, prescription drugs, insurance plans and other costs that fall onto the consumer to rise at a rate that is higher than the rate of the cost for providing these things. Profit margins for large companies are growing higher even while people are finding it more difficult to afford their basic medical needs. This calls for the intervention of the government in the medical industry. The government must pass a piece of legislation with the power to restrict companies from exerting unfair prices on their consumers. Additionally, the market should be opened up to better competition, with more companies competing against a publicly funded option and therefore offering better prices to customers. The government has the social responsibilities to make it easier for average Americans to afford healthcare.
There may be very negative consequences to not providing the aging baby boomer generation with good healthcare. When this largest generation of Americans prepares to receive its Medicare benefits, it will be important that the government is prepared to support this expense. Otherwise, the effect will be very negative for our economy. This justifies the suggestion that either taxes should be raised, or that the tax burden should be shifted on major healthcare providers who benefit the most from the current situation. This would increase the funding needed to keep Medicare functional and offset the negative economic effects of the retirement...
The American Public Health Association (APHA) is founded. This organization is concerned with the social and economic aspects of health problems. The National Quarantine Act is signed into law. This legislation is designed to prevent entry into the country of persons with communicable diseases. 1899 the National Hospital Superintendent's Association is created. It later becomes the American Hospital Association. Patel & Rushefsky, 1995, p. xvii) The seeds of health care legislation and centralization began
Each of these was included in the initial Senate bill, but was struck from the final Senate version. Despite the victories, the group isn't ready to pledge support for health reform bills. The AMA will not endorse any legislation unless Congress gets rid of the mandated payment cuts of more than $200 billion over 10 years in the government's Medicare program for the elderly. The cuts are part of
And, secondly, what's the rush? If this is so good for us and everyone understands the program, then what is the answer to those two questions? The answers are, in order, because most Americans have no clue what the program is due to the fact that the menu changes so often and so quickly and all we get is sound bites. What's the rush? So politicians like Mr. Obama and
The SG2 report (2010, p. 9) also mentions academic medical centers (AMCs), which will have enter into affiliation agreements in order to comply with the reformed care laws. This will furthermore mean more integrated physician networks and it integration, as mentioned above. Two further important factors are mentioned by Moyers (2010). She notes that the inclusive nature of health care definitions for occupational therapists is a significant step forward in terms
Polls examining public support of the bill and specifically the public healthcare option vary significantly. With regard to physicians, the New England Journal of Medicine surveyed over six thousand medical doctors and found there was a majority in favor of federally provided public healthcare insurance (Keyhani & Federman). Other polls have suggested an opposition to the public option (Marmor). The public option would provide an affordable alternative to the current
As a result, millions of Americans remain unable to bear the heavy financial toll of medical expenses. Indeed, the problem of a lack of insurance for many is related to the problem of the cost of healthcare. So confirms the article by Consumer Reports (CR) (2008), which finds that "health-insurance premiums have grown faster than inflation or workers' earnings over the past decade, in parallel with the equally rapid
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