When Barack Obama was elected president, he made substantial promises about changing America for the better. One of his points of interest was healthcare, and his current plan is to reform the healthcare system, promote scientific and technological advancements and improve preventative care.
On his Web site, barackobama.com, Obama says, “Making sure every American has access to high quality health care is one of the most important challenges of our time. The number of uninsured Americans is growing, premiums are skyrocketing, and more people are being denied coverage every day. A moral imperative by any measure, a better system is also essential to rebuilding our economy – we want to make health insurance work for people and businesses, not just insurance and drug companies.”
The administration believes that comprehensive health reform should reduce both long term and short term rises in healthcare costs for businesses and government, protect families from declaring bankruptcy or debt due to healthcare costs, guarantee people a choice in who their doctor is, invest in wellness and prevention, improve the quality of care, guarantee affordable health coverage for all citizens, maintain coverage even if you lose your job, and end barriers to coverage for those with pre-existing medical conditions.
Obama’s health care plan is a nationalized health insurance plan in which doctors, hospitals and the healthcare are delivery system would be under the control of the federal government. Right now, health insurance is unobtainable for an estimated 43 million Americans. Many believe that the solution to this problem is a nationalized health plan, but every plan has its pros and cons.
Nationalized health insurance could lower the cost of U.S. made consumer products; the result of this is that products from countries that have a nationalized health insurance plan cost less. The president’s plan could also be well-suited for employees. The lower cost of American-made products would help the nation compete in global trade which, results in keeping more jobs at home. Since this plan provides employer-provided health insurance, workers would have the ability to switch jobs to find one they actually enjoy as opposed to staying in a job they hate.
However, studies show that the U.S. has better quality in its healthcare than any other nation, including those with nationalized health insurance. In taking on this healthcare plan, Americans do run the risk of losing some of that high quality healthcare.
A study conducted by the American Consumer Institute showed that Americans are split on their opinions about this plan; 43 percent favor this plan while 50 percent don’t. The same survey also shows that Democrats are more likely to support a nationalized health plan than Republicans. But regardless of the split opinions, Obama and his administration continue to move forward with applying this plan.
Obama’s healthcare plan has benefits, drawbacks
Published: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Updated: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
5 comments
We can expect vigorous opposition from those who are getting rich in this system. See this week's Newsweek - 22,000 Americans a year are dying because they lack insurance and aren't getting treatment. This is better than any other nation? I don't think so.