The Purpose Of Health Care Reform

However, this system has been a part of a never ending healthcare debate. Many argue that this system underperforms habitually as the deliverables are in no match to the amount of spending. The discussion has largely been based on government-mandate of universal health coverage plan and the costs of the healthcare in the country. This structure has repeatedly been questioned on it access, efficiency and quality. Several feel that the beneficiary is not the average American but insurance companies and health care lobbyists. Like everywhere else, where there is refute; there is reform. In the year 2004, the First Lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s attempt to reform the healthcare scene by criticizing its basis and offering remedies was defeated by the Congress. In 2007, filmmaker Michael Moore’s, Sicko; denunciated the American healthcare system and how it affects its people.

The subject matter of universal health care is important because the current system of health care in America is economically and morally wrong. The United States spends more than double on health care and still millions are left without coverage. During the Progressive Era, AALL (American Association of Labor Legislation) proposed a bill which provided coverage to those making less than $1200 and would be provided services such as physicians, hospitals, and nurse which would be shared between workers, employers, and the state. This system was opposed by the AFL (American Federation of Labor) because it felt this movement would weaken unions. Furthermore, Bill Clinton proposed a system of universal health care which would provide health coverage

The New York Times printed an article by Robert Pear, which reported that on December 24, 2009, the US senate passed the first bill, which would call for major reform regarding health care in the United States (Pear). The article titled “Senate Passes Health Care Overhaul on Party-Line Vote,” discusses the fact that while this step was a major milestone in the process of providing Americans with affordable heath care, it was not the end of the road. Over the coming months and years there would be a lot of give and take between democrats and republicans to revise the bill to the point where both sides could support it. One of the major points in this reform is that the US government was now going to offer affordable plans including subsidy options which would allow more Americans affordable options which were

The US pays twice as much yet lags other wealthy nations in such measures as infant mortality and life expectancy, which are among the most widely collected, hence easily compared, international statistics. Many people are underinsured, for example, in Colorado "of those with insurance for a full year, 36.3% were underinsured."[6][7] About 10.7 million insured Americans spend more than a quarter of their annual paychecks on health care because of the high deductible polices.[8]

rehend the PPACA, one must understand the history of the United States’ health care system. The most successful and known reform would be the passage of Medicare and Medicaid. President Johnson’s main objective with his program was to provide health insurance to those over 65 years old, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to receive coverage due to retirement or being financially unfit to purchase health insurance. It has since been expanded to cover those with disabilities, and lower income families (“Overview,” 2015). Brady (2015) examines President Clinton’s attempt to massively overhaul health care in the United States. His plan, the Health Security Act (HSA), required employers to offer health insurance to their employees, and mandated that every US citizen purchase health insurance. This plan would have most likely expand health insurance to many more Americans; however, many feared the large tax increases, restricted options for patients, and with the lack of general support for the bill, it failed in Congress and was never implemented (p. 628). President Clinton’s failed attempt at health care reform opened up the door to future reforms, and it even shared multiple similarities to the PPACA. Smith (2015) updates the history of the health care system in America stating that “In the mid-2000s, America’s uninsured population swelled to nearly 47 million, representing about 16 percent of the population” and how “16 million Americans […] were underinsured” (p. 2). People

Clinton however, was not the only individual that had proposals for health care. Clinton, Cooper, and Chafee all had proposals in regards to an health reform plan. In politics everyone wants to come up with the next big

Universal health care coverage is a dream that the majority of Americans have had for many decades. It seemed that the dream could become a reality with a major effort under the Clinton administration in the mid 1990’s. This effort was spearheaded by the First Lady, Hillary Clinton, and would have established a universal health care system for the entire nation. Unfortunately, after years of work, the effort ended in failure due to trying to modernize and finance universal health care at the same time (Rodwin, 2003). When the current President, Barack Obama, campaigned in 2008, one of his cornerstone promises was to develop a healthcare system that would assure affordable healthcare for all Americans through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama Care. With only a slight majority of democrats in the Senate and a large majority of Republicans in the House, this would prove to be an uphill battle (Moore, 2014).

Long before the 1990s when Ms. Clinton fought for a Universal Healthcare system in America, the issue of America’s healthcare had been a political quandary. The enactment of the Republican administration’s Health Management Organization Act of 1973 was a weapon meant to address that crisis, yet, it did little to fix the problem. While the liberal Democrats are fighting for Universal Healthcare coverage for all Americans, the conservative Republicans are fighting to maintain the current private health insurance, however, with some revamping of the system, which preserves the capitalistic element of the status quo. The reason for the two opposing views stems from their differences in political ideologies, which theoretically is like pitting socialism against capitalism. While the liberal Democrats’ endorsement of Universal Healthcare system is socialistic in practice, the conservative Republicans’ fight to retain the private or market based plan is unarguably in support of their pro-capitalism stance. The truth, however, is that, though almost every American believes in capitalism, yet, almost none would vote to disband the Medicare and the Medicaid programs, both of which are socialistic. In that light, the argument of a pro-capitalist nation is negated, as we do already have a socialized healthcare program for the seniors and the poor. Extending that concept to include

The Affordable Care Act passed in 2010 and signed by President Obama on March 23, 2010. The vision was to reform the health-care in America worked and dramatically decreases the number of uninsured individuals. President Barack Obama campaigned aggressively under the phrase’ “Yes We Can”. In the end “Yes he did” get the health-care reform legislation past and set into motion the overall of health insurance decades in the making. Many of the major objectives of the Affordable Care Act were setup to be implemented over time, most of which will be in place by 2016. Until then it is somewhat difficult to determine the true impact of the Affordable Care Act on individuals and their medical care and the financial impact of the costs. As,

President Obama created The Affordable Care Act to reform the Healthcare system (Ross). The Senate informed the citizens of the United States that the Act passed on December 24, 2009, then passed in the House of Representatives on March 21, 2010. It was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court on June 28, 2012. Before the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans could not afford to have health insurance, or the coverage was not available due to pre-existing conditions (Action). With the Affordable Care Act, everyone has health insurance and is covered. . The law eliminates pre-existing conditions, stops insurance companies from dropping you and protects from discrimination. It also makes large companies with 50+ employees provide health insurance. There is an abundance of new services that Obamacare will provide for people. They will include but not limited to outpatient services, emergency visits, hospital stays, pregnancy, mental health and substance abuse services, prescription drugs, children dental and vision services. The law is designed to help those who cannot afford insurance, or those whose company charges too much to have health insurance. The Obama Care Act addresses four groups of people, the elderly on Medicare; the poor on Medicaid; the ones who pay for it on their own; and the ones who are completely uninsured. For each group, the Obama Care Act addresses their needs separately.

Ever since Obamacare was introduced back in March 23, of 2010, it has been one of the most controversial health plans debated by all government parties. The rich hate it and the poor love it. Is Obama care good or bad for the people and the economy? I believe it will be a stepping stone in the right direction for the economy and the people and protecting their rights.

The health care reform debate between 2008 and 2010 led to the passage of Patient Protection and Affordable Act. It was reminiscent of opportunities for reform that have occurred on a cyclical basis throughout American history. These opportunities occurred most notably in the presidential administrations of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and William J. Clinton. (Rich, Cheung, Lurvey, 79). We have to look at recent opportunities that have expanded today.

U.S. health care reform is currently one of the most heavily discussed topics in health discourse and politics. After former President Clinton’s failed attempt at health care reform in the mid-1990s, the Bush administration showed no serious efforts at achieving universal health coverage for the millions of uninsured Americans. With Barack Obama as the current U.S. President, health care reform is once again a top priority. President Obama has made a promise to “provide affordable, comprehensive, and portable health coverage for all Americans…” by the end of his first term (Barackobama.com). The heated debate between the two major political parties over health care reform revolves around how to pay for it and more importantly, whether it

“We will pass reform that lowers cost, promotes choice, and provides coverage that every American can count on. And we will do it this year.” The preceding is a powerful statement from the newly elected President Barak Obama. One of the main aspects of both political campaigns was health care reform. The above quote shows passion and encouragement, but the quotes about health care do not end there. Georgian republican gubernatorial candidate and health care policy maker John Oxendine expressed: “Their proposal would virtually devastate the private healthcare sector in this country along with competition and patient choice, by replacing it with bureaucratic planning and government control. The result of this plan and its one trillion

In this paper I will provide my understanding on why I feel Clinton’s Health Plan was unsuccessful. I will discuss the features of Clinton’s health care reform plan and provide my reasons I feel it failed. I will also discuss the influences of the various interests groups and governmental entities that were present during this process. Lastly I will discuss the policy process and policy environment key players that were involved and the other circumstances that shaped this policy-making effort.