With the Republicans winning majority vote in the House 239 to 186, it doesn't look so promising for the Obama health care plan. Republicans have been determined to get the plan repealed since it was enacted. Democrats are still the majority in the Senate however, winning 52 to 46. The soon-to-be House speaker, John Boehner, says he is ready to "lay the groundwork" for getting the health care plan repealed. Boehner states that he is worried that the health care bill that was enacted by the current Congress will "ruin the best health care system in the world." In my opinion, America definitely has the potential to have the best health care system in the world but it is not the best. We have the best doctors and medical facilities in the world but many people do not have access to these resources. People with money loved our health care system because they had access to the best of everything. People without money were out of luck. People should not be losing their lives because they cannot afford health insurance. There needs to be a public health care option.
President Obama defends his plan for the U.S. after the midterm elections. He plans to work with the Republicans on key issues in the current health care bill. He is not ready to give up yet and just let his bill be repealed. He states that, "No one party will be able to dictate where we go from here."
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The U.S. compared to other countries
With so many people wanting to repeal the new health care bill let's take a look back at our old health care system to remind people why change was needed.
The United States did not rank much higher than some third world countries in terms of equity of service to all citizens. The World Health Organization rated the national health care systems of 191 countries in terms of "fairness," and the United States was ranked fifty-forth. That put America slightly ahead of Chad and Rwanda but just behind Bangladesh and the Maldives. Small businesses were struggling to provide health insurance for their employees. Almost two million fewer Americans received health insurance through their employers earlier this year than compared to 2001. T.R. Reid, a former Washington Post reporter, stated in his book, "The Healing of America," that, "All the developed countries I looked at provide health coverage for every resident, old or young, rich or poor. This is the underlying moral principle of the health care system in every rich country-every one, that is, except the United States."
The Institute of Medicine estimated that more than 22,000 Americans were left to die each year because they cannot afford medical care. One-sixth of America's economy was spent on health care. Health care spending was $2.3 trillion in 2007 and was predicted to be about $4.2 trillion if we did not reform our health care system.
In the U.S., health insurers would spend around 20 percent of all premium income on administrative expenses. The French only spend about 5 percent of premiums on administrative costs. T.R. Reid asked the health ministries of all the developed countries he visited how many citizens went bankrupt in the past year (2008) because of medical bills, and the officials were astonished that he would even ask that question. No one went bankrupt because of medical bills in Britain, France, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, or Switzerland. It has been a completely different story in America. Seven-hundred thousand U.S. citizens went bankrupt due to medical bills in 2008.
A 2008 report by the Commonwealth Fund ranked nineteen wealthy nations in curing people who could be cured with decent care, and the U.S. was ranked nineteenth. The number of people who die from curable illnesses was almost twice as high in the U.S. compared to countries such as France, Japan, and Spain.
With all of that evidence, it is safe to say that reform was needed. The new bill will work because everyone will be participating in getting health insurance so the insurance companies will be competing to insure the most people. Prices will be lower because we will not be spending as much on emergency room treatments for the uninsured and people won't go bankrupt from medical bills because insurance companies will be required to cover more costs.
The United States did not rank much higher than some third world countries in terms of equity of service to all citizens. The World Health Organization rated the national health care systems of 191 countries in terms of "fairness," and the United States was ranked fifty-forth. That put America slightly ahead of Chad and Rwanda but just behind Bangladesh and the Maldives. Small businesses were struggling to provide health insurance for their employees. Almost two million fewer Americans received health insurance through their employers earlier this year than compared to 2001. T.R. Reid, a former Washington Post reporter, stated in his book, "The Healing of America," that, "All the developed countries I looked at provide health coverage for every resident, old or young, rich or poor. This is the underlying moral principle of the health care system in every rich country-every one, that is, except the United States."
The Institute of Medicine estimated that more than 22,000 Americans were left to die each year because they cannot afford medical care. One-sixth of America's economy was spent on health care. Health care spending was $2.3 trillion in 2007 and was predicted to be about $4.2 trillion if we did not reform our health care system.
In the U.S., health insurers would spend around 20 percent of all premium income on administrative expenses. The French only spend about 5 percent of premiums on administrative costs. T.R. Reid asked the health ministries of all the developed countries he visited how many citizens went bankrupt in the past year (2008) because of medical bills, and the officials were astonished that he would even ask that question. No one went bankrupt because of medical bills in Britain, France, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, or Switzerland. It has been a completely different story in America. Seven-hundred thousand U.S. citizens went bankrupt due to medical bills in 2008.
A 2008 report by the Commonwealth Fund ranked nineteen wealthy nations in curing people who could be cured with decent care, and the U.S. was ranked nineteenth. The number of people who die from curable illnesses was almost twice as high in the U.S. compared to countries such as France, Japan, and Spain.
With all of that evidence, it is safe to say that reform was needed. The new bill will work because everyone will be participating in getting health insurance so the insurance companies will be competing to insure the most people. Prices will be lower because we will not be spending as much on emergency room treatments for the uninsured and people won't go bankrupt from medical bills because insurance companies will be required to cover more costs.
Self-Analysis
Looking back to when this project was first assigned I realize that I have learned so much about health care reform. Not only has my knowledge about the subject grown, but I have also grown as a thinker.
The health care debate was a much bigger issue than I had ever known. I never really gave it much thought before because I didn’t know enough about it. I had no idea what was in the health care reform bill.
I chose this topic because I knew it was a hotly debated topic and I am interested in pursuing a career in nursing. Another factor that led to my decision was my personal ties to the health care system. I had a tumor for fifteen years before it was discovered and have had fourteen surgeries. It goes without saying that my insurance company didn’t like me very much at all. I was quite expensive. It was important that my family had good health insurance and that the company wouldn’t drop my coverage because of my pre-existing condition. Millions of people are not as fortunate as I was to have health insurance. Millions of people die each year because they don’t have health insurance. Health insurance is expensive and the new bill will help make it affordable by providing tax credits and putting a limit on how much people can be charged for out of pocket expenses. Also, people cannot be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Nothing in the new bill will require people to change their coverage if they are happy with it. Over the course of this blog project I have become very passionate about the issue.
My view on health care is that everyone should have access to it. We live in the wealthiest nation in the world with the best medical facilities and top-of-the-line doctors, yet millions of people do not have access to this. We have the most expensive health care in the world but we aren’t any healthier for it. Health care should be a right, not a luxury. The new bill is making it a right. It is providing the community with services for disease prevention such as immunizations and cancer screenings.
As a thinker, I have changed in that I carefully read many reliable sources before developing my opinion. I look at biased sites from Republicans and Democrats sides so I can get an idea of what both sides of the argument are. I also look for sites where I can get just the facts without any personal input. Before this project I had opinions about issues but I based my opinions on what I heard my parents say or what my teachers said in school. A lot of that information was biased. I am able to pick through biased information to find out what is true. This project has definitely helped me become a better thinker and has provided me with so much knowledge about politics that I did not have before.
The health care debate was a much bigger issue than I had ever known. I never really gave it much thought before because I didn’t know enough about it. I had no idea what was in the health care reform bill.
I chose this topic because I knew it was a hotly debated topic and I am interested in pursuing a career in nursing. Another factor that led to my decision was my personal ties to the health care system. I had a tumor for fifteen years before it was discovered and have had fourteen surgeries. It goes without saying that my insurance company didn’t like me very much at all. I was quite expensive. It was important that my family had good health insurance and that the company wouldn’t drop my coverage because of my pre-existing condition. Millions of people are not as fortunate as I was to have health insurance. Millions of people die each year because they don’t have health insurance. Health insurance is expensive and the new bill will help make it affordable by providing tax credits and putting a limit on how much people can be charged for out of pocket expenses. Also, people cannot be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Nothing in the new bill will require people to change their coverage if they are happy with it. Over the course of this blog project I have become very passionate about the issue.
My view on health care is that everyone should have access to it. We live in the wealthiest nation in the world with the best medical facilities and top-of-the-line doctors, yet millions of people do not have access to this. We have the most expensive health care in the world but we aren’t any healthier for it. Health care should be a right, not a luxury. The new bill is making it a right. It is providing the community with services for disease prevention such as immunizations and cancer screenings.
As a thinker, I have changed in that I carefully read many reliable sources before developing my opinion. I look at biased sites from Republicans and Democrats sides so I can get an idea of what both sides of the argument are. I also look for sites where I can get just the facts without any personal input. Before this project I had opinions about issues but I based my opinions on what I heard my parents say or what my teachers said in school. A lot of that information was biased. I am able to pick through biased information to find out what is true. This project has definitely helped me become a better thinker and has provided me with so much knowledge about politics that I did not have before.
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