Reform Proposal 3- Access
Maroon-Finance, Written by Jessica Wysocki
The Obama administration has many plans to change the health care system so every citizen has access to the care they need. The key points are to expand the Medicaid program, mandate coverage for all children, create a “National Health Insurance Exchange” plan, provide subsidies to lower-income individuals and small businesses to help lower the costs of purchasing insurance, and taxing larger firms that will not provide their employees with health insurance coverage. Obama plans to create a system that will cover everyone, opposed to a system run by the government because some Americans still approve of their private insurance plans, and changing to a single government-run plan is such a drastic change that some Americas are not ready for.
By expanding the Medicaid program, or by creating a program similar to the current Medicaid program, it would be available to individuals who do no have access to an employer insurance plan or for those who do not qualify for existing government programs. By expanding/creating this program, it will allow more citizens who are not currently eligible for Medicaid to receive health care coverage. In addition, all children who do not qualify for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), will also be covered.
As for insurance companies, they will be required to cover pre-existing conditions so that all Americans can receive coverage regardless of their health status. By doing this insurance companies cannot pick and choose whom they will cover based on health conditions, thus everyone has the opportunity for coverage. Part of the plan is to also prevent insurers from overcharging doctors for their malpractice insurance and invest in strategies to lower preventable medical errors. The “National Health Insurance Exchange” is a government run organization that would sell insurance plans directly to those who do not have an employer plan or public coverage. This would also require employers to either provide health insurance to their employees or contribute funds towards the cost of a public plan.
To finance these changes, money will come from the changes to Medicare, an expected $316 billion in the next decade, combined with $318 billion that will be generated from a tax increase on families earning more than $200,000 or more, equaling $634 billion allowed for the expansion of health coverage to all of the uninsured Americans. Money will also come from a program that will help small businesses to provide affordable health insurance to their employees, by requiring large employers that do not offer coverage to their employees to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of their employee’s health care. The Obama campaign is attempting to change to United States Health Care system so that every citizen can have access to affordable and equitable health coverage. By expanding or creating a new Medicaid program, making companies that do not offer health insurance coverage to their employees pay money to support a public health plan, and creating a “National Health Insurance Exchange”, are all steps towards creating changes in the current health care system.
Sources:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/05/obama-healthcare-plan-forbeslife-cx_rr_1105health.html
http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/03/obama-health-plan-lifestyle-health_obama_health_budget.html
http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/03/a-detailed-anal.html
The idea of a system that covers everyone and not a system that is run by the government is key to this proposal working. I think it is important that if people are happy with their health insurance, they can stay with them. Forcing people to switch is too drastic of a change that I think would put a lot of people off the idea of national heath care.
ReplyDeleteI was recruited by Jess S....
ReplyDeleteI don't think that government run anything is a good idea (including health care). There should never be only one choice for people, that is a dictatorship, not a democracy!!
In the first paragraph, it is suggested that larger firms who don't provide insurance to their employess should be taxed. Those employees have a choice whether or not they work in for an organization that does or does not provide health care insurance. I think people no longer take responsibility for themselves and lean toward expecting the government and whomever to take of them. If your employer doesn't provide it, look elsewhere! If you tax firms/companies that don't offer insurance and force them to pay/offer insurance, the consumer takes the brunt of it through lower salaries for employees, or higher prices for the services/products that company provides.
Kari S
Requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions is in theory a really good idea. If the insurance companies just have to offer insurance who is to say that they won't charge an astronomically high rate that these people can't afford anyway?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kari that the government shouldn't run the health care system. When the government starts to dictate every new decision, I feel like Americans lose a piece of their freedom by being limited to just one or two options.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a new health care system in place that makes care affordable to all, especially since I will be getting my own insurance in the next couple of years, but I don't know how I feel about only the larger businesses being taxed to create more money. To me, that kind of sounds like stealing...in a sense that the larger corporation or families worked hard for their money, and they should be able to keep it and pay the same tax as everyone else.
I do want to see changes in health care and more people covered, I guess I don't really know how I feel about the new reform to accomplish this....
I like that all chidren would be covered, but what happens when these children become adults and then their health insurance may be cut off?
ReplyDeleteInsurance companies being required to cover all people regardless of pre-existing conditions may seem like a good idea to everyone but the insurance companies. I'm not sure if the insurance companies would not just find some other reason to deny people coverage. The other part of the plan about preventing insurance companies from overcharging doctors for their malpractice insurance and instead investing that money in strategies to lower preventable medical errors sounds good. Any time you have less errors, people receive better quality healthcare.
I am a guest author and a student from UW-Eau Claire. I am in my final year as a healthcare administration major. My background is mostly in long term care, and I will be completing my practicum at an assisted living facility at the end of August. Healthcare is a universal necessity that every person should have access to, the only way there is ever going to be a system that truly covers everyone is if it is run by the government. We have tried for many years to run a healthcare system which is made up of many different individual companies competing to provide care for patients. I think that it is safe to say that this current system has failed terribly. There are thousands of uninsured and many people are stuck under mountains of medical bills. In my opinion the US needs to make drastic changes in the way that it provides healthcare. There needs to be a certain level of government control and regulations, if not complete control. It disheartens me to see that people are so against government involvment. Government intervention is the only way that we are ever going to see a standardization of prices across the entire healthcare system. This standardized set of prices will allow medical providers to have set amounts for the services they provide. By having a set price for care the insurance companies would be forced to pay the medical professionals the amount that it actually costs to provide the care, not a negotiated offer. Medcial centers lose thousands of dollars a week on care that they have provided and have not recieved payment for. This casuses them to shift the costs into other services casuing the overall cost of healthcare to rise. This rise in healthcare in turn causes the insurance companies to raise their rates. If the government can set a standardized price list then this cost shifting could cease, therefore lowering the costs of healthcare, in theory. I realize that this is not a fix all solution and there are many different areas to look at, but to say that no government involvment is essential is not looking at all of the possibilities.
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