President Obama’s Plan on Expanding Health Coverage for Currently Uninsured Population, Essay Example

As a child, I grew up without health insurance. My sister and I learned to hide our symptoms when we got sick. This experience has made me a passionate advocate for a public health system that reaches all kids, thus providing care of a high standard. The much criticized U.S. health care system is simply in need for reform and calls for a uniformed and fair care.  To solve the dilemma of the uninsured, president Obama recently has proposed a virtually universal health care system that will cover all children by law, and most adults who have a choice to either stay on their plan or choose insurance offered by the government.[1] This plan, however, with all the benefits it can offer, comes with profound economic concerns. It is beneficial for minimizing hospitals’ operational costs and providing more U.S. citizens with health insurance. On the other hand, it does not seem to deal with free-riders, and the money required for financing this plan apparently will be taken from taxes.

When Bill Clinton’s idea of universal health care failed in 1993, United States erased universal health care out of its political agenda.[2] Congress is aware and cautious about Obama’s proposal on universal coverage since they have learned a lesson from their past experience. In 1900, when European governments began financing health insurance system, United States was still not in agreement. “In the United States, a small group of professionals fought national health insurance in 1912 to 1930” (Harris, 368). Opposition by almighty stakeholders like AMA and other giant insurance companies was just too strong, and each and every attempt to enact national health insurance during 20^th century was met with fire and brimstone.

Obama’s health care plan will definitely increase the number of insured citizens, thus providing more efficient health care opportunities. Currently, uninsured population induces hospital emergency rooms to ever increasing costs in uncompensated care.[3] With uninsured population causing local ERs and hospitals to the brink of bankruptcy, and our citizens spending 17% of income on health care[4], it has become a necessity to insure more people to lower the cost of health care. Obama’s plan makes it affordable providing subsidies for people who cannot afford it. According to a study conducted by Families USA, if Obama’s plan succeeds in containing cost in the uninsured sector by providing affordable health care, about 19%, or 902,400 Arizonans who do not have health insurance can possibly benefit from it. Today, uninsured people do not have a Primary Care Physicians (PCPs), thus they do not receive any preventive care like blood pressure-lowering drugs or screening for heart disease. Obama’s plan has put forward large amount of money to take the first biggest step in preventive care. “We have to prevent them first, before treating them,” remarks Obama in his speech at University of Iowa.[5] Eventually, the modernization of health care system through investing in prevention initiatives and insurance will definitely lower the expenditures in the long run. “According to the Lewin Group, health-care system-wide savings over the 2010-2019 period would be about $571.6 billion.” [6]

Apart from insurance, Obama’s plan can also save money for the hospitals.  It would be clichéd to say “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” however, despite this knowledge, Unites States has been less successful in controlling illnesses that can be effectively managed through preventive measures.[7] Our health care is severely fragmented. The expenditure on health care was 5.8% of the GDP during 1961[8]. In 2008, the total health care spending represented 17 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP)[9]. By having more insured population, local emergency rooms will no longer have to pay out of their pockets for the uncompensated expenses. It is apparent that reducing health care cost is a key element that will help to overcome this economic crisis. By providing affordable health care, local hospitals will no longer have to spend a considerable part of their budget towards uncompensated, more ill patients.[10] After all, a single stroke or a heart attack can cost local hospital and the local taxpayers much more than controlling of blood pressure by a primary care doctor.  Preventive plan will be beneficial to all citizens and all hospitals within the United States.

Obama’s plan still will not solve free-riders of health care system. From a local perspective, St. Mary’s hospital in Tucson alone has received 10% of uninsured population last month, out of which 30% of uninsured were the “free-riders.”[11] These people are often drug-addicts, who have no jobs and who just live day by day on street corners, begging for change. Since there is no way of filtering who walks through the ER door due to EMTALA (Emergency Treatment and Active Labor Act), ER has no option but to accept these free-riders at the cost of employee’s taxes and government tax write-offs.  In cases where they are not compensated for uninsured care, hospital can go bankrupt, employees can lose their jobs, and another ER will have to receive re-routed patients. We can no longer waste our resources on their frequent stops to ER.  Excess utilization of medical services will keep happening in the case of free-riders unless given a limit to their privileges. Re-directing these people into right places will relieve taxpayers and make Obama’s plan possible.

The dilemma of the uninsured can be cured with Obama’s plan, but what are their opportunity costs? Crux of argument in Obama’s plan is about vague economic opportunity cost. Government cannot produce money by itself for free. The money that will be spent on health care will have to come from somewhere, in means of higher tax rates for people. “President Obama will propose further tax increases on the affluent to help pay for his promise to make health care more accessible and affordable.” [12] Therefore, all the risks, losses, and liabilities would be saddled on tax-payers under the proposed new government health care plan. Reducing health care spending is done at the cost of jobs destroyed elsewhere. Under the conditions of proposed health care plan many employers would halt their private health coverage plans, thus shifting their employees to governmental insurances. An estimated of 21.6 millions of U.S. citizens would lose their private health coverage, and about 48.3 millions would be subjected to governmental coverage. [13] Shifting the resource from one place to another could produce some slack. However, to expand current economy, the president will somehow need to increase in total production of health care.

Obama’s health plan will surely lower the operational costs and expenditures for hospitals, and provide a significant number of U.S. citizens with health insurance. However, it is not perfect, for it does not seem to solve the problem with free-riders, and its implementation will result in increased tax rates for tax-payers. It is my hope that Obama’s plan will minimize the consequences and maximize the benefits:  freedom of choice, flexibility and cost effectiveness. We as citizens should lead the nation and take a stand on such a critical issue that will possibly affect everyone. For next few years, we will watch our government leading federal agencies to develop a coordinated health care system. We cannot let giant insurance companies lobby through affordable health care, and once again control our health care system.

Works Cited

Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association AHHA March 19 2009 <http://www.azhha.org/member_and_media_resources/documents/StateBudgetCutsThreatenArizonaHealthcareSafetyNet.pdf>

“Bill Clinton: Road to health care reform easier now.” CNN Politics March 11 2009:1. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/11/lkl.bill.clinton/index.html>.

Calmes, Jackie and Robert Pear. “To Pay for Health Care, Obama Looks to Taxes on Affluent.” New York Times 29 February 2009. 23 March 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/us/politics/26budget.html?hp>.

“Cutting Costs and Covering America: A 21st Century Health Care System” Organizing for America. 23 March 2009 <http://www.barackobama.com/2007/05/29/cutting_costs_and_covering_ame.php>.

Harris, Seymour. The Economics of Health Care. California: 1975.

Moffit, Robert. “Obama’s Health Care Resolutions Can’t Be Kept.” FOXNews 5 January 2009. 23 March 2009 <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,476124,00.html>.

“Health Insurance Costs.” National Coalition on Health Care. Mar. 20 2009. <http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml>.  “Plan for a Healthy America.” Organizing for America. 19 March 2009 <http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/index.php>.

Staskey Paul and Walter Appelgren, Arizona Health Care: At Issue Arizona: Northern Arizona University Center for Health Sciences, 1973.

United States Senate et al. Study of Health Facilities Construction Costs. Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1972.

Zimmer, Debbie. Telephone interview. 16 March 2009.

[1] “Plan for a Healthy America.” Organizing for America. 19 Mar. 2009. <http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/index.php>.

[2] “Bill Clinton: Road to Health Care Reform Easier Now.” CNN Politics. 19 Mar. 2009. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/11/lkl.bill.clinton/index.html>.

[3] Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association. Turbulent Economic Outlook for Arizona’s Hospitals. 19 Mar. 2009. <http://www.azhha.org/member_and_media_resources/documents/StateBudgetCutsThreatenArizonaHealthcareSafetyNet.pdf>.

[4] “Health Insurance Costs.” National Coalition on Health Care. Mar. 20 2009. <http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml>.

[5] “Cutting Costs and Covering America: A 21st Century Health Care System.” Organizing for America. 23 Mar. 2009. <http://www.barackobama.com/2007/05/29/cutting_costs_and_covering_ame.php>.

[6] D’Angelo, Greg, and Paul Winfree. “The Obama Health Care Plan.” Heritage Foundation. (2008).

[7] United States Senate et al. Study of Health Facilities Construction Costs. Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1972.

[8] Staskey, Paul, and Walter Appelgren. Arizona Health Care: At Issue. Arizona: Center for Health Sciences, 1973.

[9] “Health Insurance Costs.” National Coalition on Health Care. 20 Mar. 2009. <http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml>.

[10] Zimmer, Debbie. Telephone interview. 16 March 2009.

[11] Zimmer, Debbie. Telephone interview. 16 March 2009.

[12] Calmes, Jackie and Robert Pear. “To Pay for Health Care, Obama Looks to Taxes on Affluent.” New York Times 29 February 2009. 23 March 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/us/politics/26budget.html?hp>.

[13] Moffit, Robert. “Obama’s Health Care Resolutions Can’t Be Kept.” FOXNews 5 January 2009. 23 March 2009 <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,476124,00.html>.