Healthcare topic blog

I would like to discuss the debate going on about healthcare reform. It is being discussed all throughout our news stations and other media outlets. Many people are strongly for and there are many people who are strongly against it. There are many different opinions on the specified topic of healthcare reform. Some believe that the current system being used is fine and do not believe that we should reform our healthcare system. Others believe that the system does indeed need changing but shouldn’t be changed drastically. Others say that the system is indeed in trouble and needs some serious revamping. I found it interesting because so much is at risk in this one particular discussion. Allow me to explain the situation in further detail.
These arguments are themselves one big argument. It shows that something is wrong with how healthcare is handled in the United States and how the problem should be addressed. As mentioned above, some preferably wish to do absolutely nothing and leave the system as it is today. Others wish to form a non-profit and government funded plan called a co-op. Others wish to form a government run insurance plan called the public option. This would compete against the private insurers and prevent them from cheating their customers. And yet others wish to create a system where the government controls everyone’s health care, called the single payer system which is used in many countries around the world except for ours.
There are debates going on whether or not to reform healthcare at all. Some believe that the price of premiums that we pay to private insurers are going through the roof. They believe some Americans are being discriminated against and exempt from treatment due to pre-existing conditions. These are the reasons being made in favor of reform of the current system. Others believe that the system is not flawed and is considered to be the envy of the world and should not be tampered with. That is the argument being made in favor of inaction.
The biggest of these choices is the government run insurance program which is the public option. The argument being made in favor of the public option is that it will offer those who have lost their insurance health insurance at an affordable price. Its low price of care will also create competition for the other insurance companies so that they are not cheating their customers out of their money. People in favor of the public option also believe they can achieve these goals. The argument being made against it is that it requires too much intervention and control from the federal government. Those in opposition to the plan believes that this will be extremely costly. It is estimated that this kind of reform will cost over $1 trillion and might put a large burden on taxpayers. This means a possible tax hike on the wealthiest Americans; it could also mean a tax on things like soda or other goods Americans purchase everyday. Another reason to oppose the plan is that with so many people getting on board without increasing the number of doctors. This means that care and treatment of patients would have to be rationed. It would dead to long lines and waiting lists for those who need medications and surgery.
The discussion of the public option is being debated now in Congress. Those in favor of government run insurance are mostly members of the Democratic party, whose members usually hold liberal views while the those who are against it are members of the Republican party, whose members tend to hold conservative views. Democrats have large majorities in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate; they could easily vote to pass the bill that they have proposed which you would think would be easy but it isn’t. The main problem that they (the democrats) have is that their more conservative members are skeptical of the plan to reform health care. They do not wish to burden their constituents with more government intervention in their lives nor do they wish to add to the federal deficit which seems to be getting larger by the day.
Support for this kind of reform was strong earlier this year but now the tone of the people seems to be shifting in opposition to it. Polls have shown that support for the public option has been fading and now it seems that more are opposed than they are supportive of it. The bill being debated passed through the necessary committees and will go to the floor for a vot. Unfortunately for the democrats, they brought it to the floor just before the August recess. They then have had to go back to their constituents that reside in particularly conservative districts and have taken a big beating. Some are intimidated and are unsure how to vote while the others are unaffected, calling the protests against reform artificial and that they were created by the insurance companies which have been taking a beating themselves by those said politicians. It has even gotten to a point where the President said he is open to dropping the public option in favor of the nonprofit co-op plan. That, however, has sparked frustration with more liberal members of the democratic party, arguing that a bill without the public option would not have the votes to pass as they would all vote against it.
This debate over health care reform appears to have been going on for months. Wrong, it is a problem that has been going on for years. Many US Presidents have tried to address this issue but have failed to do so successfully. Until this year, a bill has never reached the floor of the House which makes this the closest we’ve come to getting reform. Caution must be taken, though, there are serious risks being taken in this discussion, both for our country and for democrats. If this reform goes wrong, democrats will find their back against the wall come the next election. Nobody knows what will come of reform as of right now, it will be interesting to see how this all turns out.