Health Care as a Political Issue, Essay Example

What to do about healthcare in our nation is a much debated topic in current politics. Questions arise concerning the availability, cost, and quality of healthcare for American citizens. In recent years, citizens have seen the cost of health services skyrocket. Healthcare insurance offered through employment is either unreasonably priced or has disappeared all together. Those without health insurance are likely to put off going to the doctor when sick and often neglect routine preventative care, such as wellness checkups and semi-annual dentist appointments. This unwise practice, though meant to save money, all too often results in serious illness, medical bankruptcy, and negative costs to the healthcare industry. It is no surprise, then, that American citizens want changes in the healthcare industry and are calling for them to be made now. Indeed, for the health of our nation, changes in the healthcare industry have to be made. Politicians are scrambling to devise a cost-effective way to deliver quality healthcare to millions of citizens. Just as with everything else in politics, Republicans and Democrats have varying views on what the best plan of action is and have taken standpoints that differ in a number of ways. This paper will present both sides of the debate, Republican and Democrat, in an attempt to objectively impart information to the reader.

The Republican Party has taken a firm stand against a government controlled health care plan. They believe that current government programs can be restructured to provide insurance for the millions of currently uninsured Americans, namely Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (Jackson, 2009). Under the Republican plan, the current health care system would remain in a restructured form. The House GOP has released a four-page outline that gives a detailed overview of the changes their plan would provide in the health care system. Key components of the GOP’s plan include tax credits for low and modest income households, allowing college students under the age of 25 to stay on their parent’s health insurance plans, and allowing small businesses and associations to combine for the purpose of offering health insurance to employees at a discounted price (Jackson, 2009).

The first goal of the Republican health care plan is for every American to be able to afford, and have access to, quality care (Blunt, 2009). One of the ways this will be achieved is through, “new refundable and advanceable tax credits, to low- and modest-income Americans” (Blunt, 2009). There will be support for those approaching retirement age or choosing to retire early. Reforms in medical liability laws will aim to reduce unnecessary procedures ordered by doctors afraid of being sued. The GOP aims to provide Medicare and Medicaid programs with more power and money to stop fraud (Blunt, 2009). In the Republican outline, there is also a provision for providing financial benefits to those who care for a loved one in their home.

The Health Care Solutions Group also deals with the ability to obtain quality medical care, beyond financial barriers. Under this plan, states will be encouraged to create a “Universal Access Program” to guarantee all Americans can be covered with health insurance (Blunt, 2009). The plan also offers a tax credit to small businesses offering health insurance to their employees and encourages rules that automatically enroll all employees in a company offered health insurance plan. Finally, those citizens that receive government sponsored Medicaid benefits will be able to apply the value of those benefits to a private plan that better suits their medical needs (Blunt, 2009).

The second goal of the Republican health care Solutions Group plan is to prevent a government run health care plan and allow citizens the choice to keep their current insurance, choice in choosing doctors, and overall say in their individual health care (Blunt, 2009). Goals number three and four refer back to the objectives listed in goal number two. The last section of the Republican Health Care Solutions Group outline deals with the promotion of prevention and wellness care.

In order to provide preventative care to all Americans, the Republican Party has outlined a variety of steps to be implemented. These steps center around the encouragement of citizens to seek routine wellness care, rewarding doctors for high quality care, and implementing new procedures to streamline communication across all channels for patients and doctors alike (Blunt, 2009). Specifically, the GOP outlines plans to “Provide incentives to physicians who enter the field of primary care” (Blunt, 2009) and reward physicians who provide higher quality of care over higher quantity of care (Blunt, 2009). Also mentioned in the outline are plans to give companies greater flexibility to “financially reward” employees who take an active role in maintaining their own individual health (Blunt, 2009). The outline itself can be viewed by accessing the website listed in the works cited page at the end of this essay.

In contrast to the Republican Party, the Democratic Party is for creating a new universal health insurance program that would provide coverage for uninsured Americans and replace the current government programs, while leaving private insurance companies in place. Private insurance companies would be subject to some rule changes, such as being required to extend coverage to those people with pre-existing medical conditions (Haberkorn, 2009). The Democrat backed health care plan is divided into two sections: “If you have health insurance” and “if you don’t have insurance” (“The Obama Plan…,” 2009).

The first section of the Democrats plan deals with increasing stability and providing security for those already insured. This is accomplished through a major overhaul in the rules concerning provided coverage and program cost variances. Specifically, insurance companies would no longer to be allowed to deny people because of pre-existing conditions or age. Similarly, insurance companies would no longer be able to charge higher premium prices based on gender and would limit the price variance regarding age (“The Obama Plan…,” 2009). Under the Democratic plan, a cap would be placed on out-of-pocket expenses to households for healthcare and the cap on lifetime coverage would be eliminated (“The Obama Plan,” 2009). A huge reform to current health care coverage is the component to the plan that would ensure, “that all Americans have access to free preventive services under their health insurance plans” (“The Obama Plan…,” 2009). Preventative care includes such services as mammograms, flu shots, and diabetes tests. Protection for seniors who receive Medicare benefits include providing a 50 percent discount for prescription drugs (“The Obama Plan…,” 2009).

The second section of the Democratic Party’s health care plan concerns American citizens who do not currently have health insurance benefits. To encourage availability and motivate obtainment of a health insurance plan, tax credits will be available for small businesses to offer insurance and to offset and limit costs for families that currently struggle to pay health insurance premiums (The Obama Plan…,” 2009). The Democratic health care plan seeks to create a separate marketplace specifically for people without insurance and for small businesses that do not currently offer their employees health insurance. This marketplace is called “The Exchange” and would be a place consumers could compare insurance plan options and find an affordable plan suited to their needs (The Obama Plan…,” 2009). The Exchange insurance marketplace is estimated to be up and running by 2013. However, upon approval, the Democrats’ plan would provide immediate coverage to those citizens who are currently uninsured because of a pre-existing condition, with no premium increase due to the pre-existing condition allowed, in order to provide for immediate access to medical care (The Obama Plan…,” 2009). The final outlined plan component geared toward the uninsured is the creation of a public health care option for those who cannot pay for insurance that meets their individual and family health needs. This option is detailed as being a completely voluntary choice, is expected to operate as a self-sufficient program, and be a factor in providing competition and ensuring that affordable choices exist within the insurance marketplace (The Obama Plan…,” 2009).

Additional components to the Democrats’ health care reform plan emphasize cost-cutting by streamlining communication and care delivery procedures for hospitals and doctors, creating an independent commission to act as watchdog for billing fraud and waste, and initiating reform on medical malpractice laws. The outline emphasizes that the programs created by the plan will be paid for upfront, and not added to the federal deficit. A clause would exist that requires readjusting and streamlining to cut costs if the plan exceeds its budget (The Obama Plan…,” 2009).

The information in the preceding paragraphs gives a detailed overview of the plans proposed by each of our country’s major political parties, Republican and Democrat. Unfortunately, American citizens will not get to vote personally on this issue of such extreme importance. Concerns can be voiced, letters can be written, but ultimately, reliance on the elected officials, of both parties, will have to be accepted. And with physicians and drug companies to back it up, one thing is for sure; a reform of the healthcare industry will happen (Cohen, 2009).

Works Cited

Blunt, Roy. HealthCare solutions group and House GOP, posted by CBS News, June 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. <http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/GOPHealthPlan_061709.pdf?tag=contentMain;contentBody>

Cohen, Elizabeth. “What you need to know about health care reform.” CNNHealth.com, 18 June, 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/18/ep.health.reform.basics/>

Haberkorn, Jennifer. “Senate Democrats outline health care plan.” The Washington Times, 10 June 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/10/senate-democrats-outline-health-care-plan/>

Jackson, Jill. “House Republicans Offer Health Care Plan.” CBS News Blogs, 17 June 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. <http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/06/17/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5093897.shtml>

“The Obama Plan: Stability & Security for All Americans.” The WhiteHouse.gov, 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health_care/plan/