Health Care Reform and How the United States Got There Essay Sample

For over a decennary our health care system has been flawed. and for over a decennary several Presidents have tried to reform the wellness industry with small success. Advocates of wellness attention reform have been met with great contention and opposition since every bit early as 1854 when President Franklin Pierce vetoed the “Land-Grant Bill for Indigent Insane Persons” that would profit the indigent insane. “by reasoning that the federal authorities should non perpetrate itself to societal public assistance. which he believed was decently the duty of the states” ( “Senate Arguments On the Land-Grant Bill for Indigent Insane. 1854 ) . Those apposed to alter hold fought diligently to discontinue the passing of any measure that would profit the people. However. on March 10. 2010 all that would alter with the passing of President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The United States wellness attention system would get down to travel towards a more socialist attack and the start of a new epoch in health care would get down. but lone clip will state what the branchings the United States will confront in the approaching old ages as we continue to force toward alteration.

The jobs we are confronting today did non go on overnight ; it took several old ages. decennaries. even a century. It took a battalion of jobs intensifying over clip to set the United States into the wellness attention convulsion we are confronting today. In order to understand how the United States wellness attention system failed we must cognize why it failed. The manner the wellness attention systems operates today. has non ever been the instance. In fact over the class of old ages. health care has transformed dramatically from the first clip wellness attention became a national issue in the early portion of the 20 Century when Progressivism was act uponing both the United States and Europe. During the beginning of the 20th century. a clip when the Progressivism motion was act uponing both the United States and Europe. the United States came the closest to socialistic medical specialty it of all time has come until present twenty-four hours. “However due to several lending factors. employer-based illness financess. the American Medical Association resistance to socialized wellness attention. this enterprise was shot down. and may hold contributed to why the thought of government-based insurance did non take clasp in the United States” ( Truman. 1949 ) .

While the United Kingdom and the remainder of Europe moved toward nationalized wellness attention for all citizens. the United States continued to fight with how to near wellness attention. Prior to 1920. those who had healthcare coverage were those who worked for an employer who had a basic employer-based illness fund. and the thought of cosmopolitan health care would non come up once more until after the Great Depression when President Roosevelt tried to originate cosmopolitan health care. When President Roosevelt proposed the “New Deal” statute law he proposed health care reform that many considered “compulsory wellness insurance” ( Hoffman 2003 ) . However. President Roosevelt’s enterprise for reformation within the wellness attention sphere was short lived due to the continued resistance from the American Medical Association. and both province and local authoritiess. President Roosevelt feared political onslaught from the American Medical Association. and for that ground President Roosevelt dropped all healthcare statute law from the “New Deal” docket.

During the same epoch as the proposed “New Deal” statute law. a new group wellness insurance program was formed by a group of instructors in Dallas. Texas. This group program would come to be known as Blue Cross Blue Shield. and “the popularity of group wellness insurance policies began to increase enormously due to the discounted contracts that were negotiated with physicians and infirmaries. which were passed on to the consumer. ” ( Health Care in the United States. n. vitamin D ) By the 1940’s the perceptual experience of wellness attention began to alter rather quickly. Those who were buying single policies were turning in Numberss enormously. The United States authorities and brotherhoods jumped into the sphere. by forcing for statute law to back up 3rd party insurances such as Sidney Garfield’s Kaiser Permanente. ( Kaiser Permanente. 2012 ) The Second Great War would besides lend to the cause. when limitations were placed on higher paying occupations. “Since employers were unable to lure the most qualified worker to come work for them for higher wage. they alternatively improved their benefit bundles. to include adding wellness insurance. ( History of Health Care. 2009 ) .

As the United States moved into the 1950’s. Congress and President Truman began to do some headroom in the battle for health care for all. to include “federal fiting grants to province payments for medical attention for the hapless. ” ( History of Health Insurance in The United States. 2009 ) . As the United States continued to force frontward with alteration and health care development. “Congress was being pressured to spread out Social Security to include alleviation from medical measures for the aged. ” ( The History of Health Insurance in The United States ) . and for these grounds by 1965 the Medicare and Medicaid plans would be born. and the beginning of socialised health care would get down to take form.

Harmonizing to Igel. in “The History of Health Care as a Campaign Issue. ” the following eight old ages would see small alteration in health care reform after the acceptance of the Medicare and Medicaid plans into jurisprudence. By the early 70’s President Nixon was forcing for federal statute law to help in the birth of Health Maintenance Organizations ( HMO ) throughout the state. “The birth of HMO’s shortly consumed both political and concern involvements and jobs would shortly get down to mount” ( Igel. 2008 ) . The subject of major health care reform would non come to go through once more. until the 1992 Election. when President Clinton “made wellness attention reform a centrepiece of his run. ” ( Bok. 1998 ) . After winning the election he rapidly formed a commission to turn to the battalion of jobs health care was holding. After naming Mrs. Clinton as the caput of the undertaking force and months of guess. a 1000 page papers was presented to Congress on September 1993 sketching the warrant of basic health care for all Americans. “In a forceful tone. he urged the lawgivers to repair a wellness attention system that is severely broken… giving really American wellness security — wellness attention that is ever at that place. health care that can ne’er be taken away” ( Bok. 1998 ) . Like his predecessors in the yesteryear. his program would come to a deadlock on September 26. 1994 “when Senate Leader George Mitchell announced that the wellness attention statute law was dead” ( Bok. 1998 ) .

By the clip President Bush took office at that place was alteration in the air. but overall health care reform for all was non one of them. President’s Bush wellness attention enterprises focused more on revenue enhancement credits. Health Salvaging Histories and alterations in codification for health care insurance. alternatively for the 1000000s who lacked coverage. One of the biggest alterations that came out of President Bush‘s term was the push today statute law that that would protect patient’s right in the health care sphere. President Bush was besides instrumental in the push for the acceptance of new engineering that would back up the transition from paper medical records to electronic medical records. In add-on. he supported the passing of the Health Information Portability and Accountability act in 1998. which ensured that patient information was protected and unbroken private.

Our United States current health care industry is flawed and. “in fact. it’s non even near to being the best wellness attention system in the world” ( Harper. 2009 ) . President Obama knows this. in fact old Presidents have known this. but small has been accomplished to alter the manner the health care industry operates. For over a decennary statute law has been proposed and for a assortment of political and economical grounds. statute law has been squashed clip and clip once more. There are several factors to see as to why the United States’ health care system is one of the worst in the universe. As far back as 1968. “a National Opinion Research Center reported that 87 % of Americans polled believed that wellness attention was a right of all American Citizens” ( Harper. 2009 ) . So why is it that the “United States is the lone wealthy. industrialized. developed state in the universe that does non offer wellness attention to all of its citizens? ” ( Harper. 2009 ) .

Our Healthcare system is riddled with jobs and in order for them to be fixed healthcare reform is necessary. The simple fact is the American public pays more for the bringing of health care than any other state in the universe. Harmonizing to Zaldivar. in his article Health Care Costs to Account for One-Fifth of U. S. Economy by 2020 health care costs will account for fifth part of the U. S. Economy by 2020. Due to the astronomical costs. 1000000s of consumers go without equal wellness insurance. Increasing insurance premiums. higher deductibles and the addition in wellness attention charges have lead consumers to pay a greater portion of the cost themselves. ( Harper. 2009 ) When the National Coalition on Health Care provided statistics to a Congressional Committee the consequences were reeling. “Insurance premiums have risen at more than twice that of rising prices. and the mean employee part to company- provided wellness insurance has increased more than 120 % since 2000 ( Harper. 2009 ) .

The 2nd issue that the United States health care system faces and falls short on is the quality of attention. Not merely is it substandard and performs ill. it is unaccessible to 1000000s. Harmonizing to Svencill. in “Why The U. S. Health Care System is Substandard” . the steps used to find where the United States ranks are infant mortality. life anticipation and disablement rates. In all three studies the United States fell good below the criterions and ranked 72nd out of 191 states that were studied harmonizing to the World Health Organization ( WHO ) ( Harper. 2009 ) . In that same study the United States ranks the lowest in respects to infant mortality. 7. 2 deceases per 1000 unrecorded births ( BLE 2001 ) . This rate ranks the United States 26th amongst developed states. ( Svencill. 2011 ) .

One would presume that life anticipation in the United States would be much higher than those of their opposite numbers. due to the engineering that the United States possesses. but this is non the instance. The United States once more fell abruptly. On an norm. US citizens’ life anticipation is five old ages shorter than other developed states. “Approximately 80. 000 deceases in 2006 caused by conditions “amendable to healthcare” could hold been prevented had those people received “timely. effectual medical care” is besides much lower than other developed states. ( The Commonwealth Fund. 2006 ) The One of the grounds that critics have argued that these statistics are so low is because out of all the developed states in the universe. the United States does non supply wellness insurance to all their citizens. where other states have entree to proper wellness attention. that is required to remain healthy. This is a far call from the best health care in the universe.

The 47 million and turning without wellness insurance is likely the biggest job our health care system is confronting. “The deficiency of insurance is associated with worse wellness outcomes” ( Institute of Med. . . 2012 ) . Besides it is a proved fact that one out of every three bankruptcies result from fiscal adversity from roll uping medical measures. Increasing wellness insurance premiums have led many to drop their health care coverage because they merely could non afford the premium. As a consequence consumer’s revenue enhancements are increased to back up the turning authorities plans.

President Obama saw the jobs and put out to seek and repair the flawed health care industry after his triumph. On March 10. 2010 this would come to go through and history would be made when the United States authorities passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Act set out to cut out waste. reapportion how authorities support is distributed to the authorities plans such as Medicaid and Medicare. and in conclusion guaranting that every American is able to obtain wellness insurance. “Obama Care reforms the manner American [ s ] purchase wellness insurance necessitating all Americans to either purchase a private wellness attention program or pay a 1 % -2. 5 % revenue enhancement. It besides guarantees that Health Care is available to any legal U. S. occupant who can non otherwise obtain “good” health care through their employer. Your entree to wellness attention is no longer in the custodies of wellness insurance companies” ( What is Obama Care. 2012 ) . Harmonizing to the International Human Rights Article 25. 1 “Everyone has the right to a criterion of life adequate for the wellness of himself and of his household. including nutrient. lodging. and medical attention and necessary services” ( Leary. n. vitamin D ) .

What many American’s have been led to believe about Obama Care. is that their rights as persons to take an insurance program that best suits their demands will be relinquished and the authorities will take control of this right. This is a false belief that those who oppose national wellness attention have led Americans to believe. In fact The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act does the opposite by “giving American worker more freedom. and non holding to be dependent on their employers or insurance companies for care” . ( Omamacarefacts. n. vitamin D ) Alternatively Obama Care let persons make up one’s mind about their ain wellness attention. “and for those who are unable to afford wellness insurance will either measure up for Medicare/Medicaid or acquire aid in the signifier of revenue enhancement credits. revenue enhancement interruptions or aid with up- forepart cost on Health Insurance Exchanges ( HIX ) . ( Obamacarefacts. n. d. ) “The authorities merely makes certain citizens get a just shingle and the insurance companies play by the rules” . ( Obamacarefacts. n. d. ) . When The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is to the full implemented in 2014 those 47 million Americans who presently non covered will eventually hold wellness insurance.

The United States populace has besides been lead to believe that wellness insurance companies have opposed Obama Care from the beginning. but in fact. wellness insurance companies have favored alterations in wellness attention reform from the beginning. . “If there is a group of people more dying about how the Supreme Court will govern on the wellness attention reform jurisprudence than President Obama and the 1000000s of Americans who are already profiting from it. it is wellness insurance Executives” ( Potter. 2012 ) . Companies such as Cigna and Aetna lobbied for Congress to go through the mandated single insurance clause. guaranting one million millions in new concern.

Former Cigna president Larry English. testified to a Congressional commission that “There are many particulars in the President’s program we believe should be supported enthusiastically. Among them are cosmopolitan coverage. portability. the riddance of preexistent status restrictions. the riddance of cream-skimming and cherry picking underwriting patterns. the usage of community evaluation. a standard benefit program and malpractice reform. ” ( Potter. 2012 ) . Obama’s jurisprudence would spread out their concern. when the 47 million new clients who presently are without insurance would hold to hold “coverage through a mix of subsidised private insurance for middle-class families and expanded Medicaid for low-income people. Medicaid receiver would acquire signed up in commercial managed attention companies. or pay a 2 % revenue enhancement. ” ( Potter. 2012 )

Part of President Obama’s long term ends to make an economic system that is stable and booming besides includes ordinances on insurance companies and how they conduct concern. No thirster would insurance companies be able to order to consumers who would be able to obtain insurance and who could non because of preexisting medical issues. “Under the jurisprudence. insurance companies would hold to accept all appliers. including the sick. ( Potter. 2012 ) . Other of import benefits would include preventive attention such as annual physicals. Women’s wellness benefits would be expanded to include annual mammograms and pelvic tests. Plans such as the Annual Wellness Visit and new preventive showing will spread out the benefits that seniors presently have.

Despite the ballyhoo that those who oppose health care reform have pounded into the caputs of Medicare recipients the proposed cuts would come from “low beginnings: ( a ) a crackdown on Medicare fraud. estimated to presently be the federal authorities every bit much as $ 60 billion per twelvemonth and ( B ) a decrease in what is paid to the Medicare Advantage plans offered by private insurance” . ( Unger. 2010 ) . Medicare patients would go on to hold the same medical benefits they had before all the cuts were made.

The benefits of the Patient Protection and Affordability Act are clear. This Act is a win. win for everyone. 47 million Americans who fall through the clefts to presently are without insurance will eventually be able to afford medical insurance and be able acquire the medical attention they need. The insurance companies. even though they have been regulated. base to do one million millions of dollars one time all Americans are required to buy wellness insurance. The overhauling of how Medicare operates besides stands to profit from the Act. The crackdown of the fraud that is committed will salvage the federal authorities in copiousness of $ 60 million dollars a twelvemonth. That entirely should be applauded. Will at that place be bumps in the route? Absolutely. Is the authorities traveling toward a more socialistic attack to medical attention. yes. but those who have opposed this attack fail to recognize or better yet do non desire to acknowledge that our Medicaid plan is a socialistic plan for the hapless that the working citizens of the United States support The Patient Protection and Affordability Act is a win. win state of affairs.

Bibiolography

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