Introduction
Since President Barack Obama took over office in 2008, there has been a heated debate on his healthcare plans for all Americans. A significant number of people have faulted the healthcare plan on various grounds. Some of the prominent critics of Obama’s health policy proposition were members of the Republican Party. This is well described by O’Connor, Sabato, and Yanus (166). However, there are also those who have lauded the plan.
View about the healthcare policy
It is important to note that healthcare is one of the basic human needs in the world and specifically in the United States of America. However, a significant number of American citizens do not have access to better healthcare and health insurance policy.
It is approximated that over 45 million Americans lack medical cover and about 100 million have no sufficient insurance for long term or chronic illnesses. These statistics are discussed by both McKenna and Feingold (180). These numbers are alarming; hence, the government needs to take some measures to ensure that all citizens have access to sufficient medical services.
According to McKenna and Feingold (180) the United States the world’s leader in medical research and training; as such, the citizens of the United States should have access to the best and sufficient medical coverage as compared to citizens in other nations.
It is ironical to see other nations like Canada, Great Britain, France and Germany provide better healthcare to their citizens at low cost yet their medical research and education are ranked below that of the United States. Therefore, the United States of America needs a national health insurance.
The private sector is mostly profit-oriented and the players in the sector will always ensure their profit margins are as large as they can make them. Therefore, living the healthcare to the private sector will lock out low income earners from accessing better and high quality healthcare.
National health insurance will ensure that all American citizens, irrespective of economic class one belongs to, have access to better healthcare services. It is unfair for the law to grant all citizens the right to better healthcare services yet the state players do not ensure it by providing easy access to health insurance and medical cover. Without state involvement, the right to health may just be on paper.
Even though it may be viewed as an element of socialism, it is crucial for the government of the United States of America to play a significant role on the issues of health insurance and medical cover. It is only this way that low income earners can also access better healthcare services.
This is because the government is not profit oriented; it acts for the interest of all American citizens irrespective of their economic, social or political statuses. The private sector does not work for the interest of all. It only offers the best to those who are ready to give them high returns.
Nonetheless, it is also noteworthy that full involvement of the government may jeopardize the health insurance in the private sector thereby interfering with profitability in the sector.
The only workable modality is that both the government and the private sector should be involved in healthcare. This will ensure higher income earners who prefer private sector health services get the services they can afford and at the same time the low income earners are also able to get proper healthcare services.
Obama’s recent healthcare reforms
Obama’s healthcare reforms have been subject of debate for quite sometimes since he took over office in 2008. However, the healthcare reforms are a step in the right direction.
The new reforms will ensure that non-elderly American citizens have access to inexpensive healthcare insurance. The reforms have established the provision of these services through a recipe of a newly formulated program similar to Medicare program and the existing health plans provided by the employers.
The healthcare reforms will ensure that all American citizens access high quality healthcare services. The reforms provide that every individual legally living in the United States of America and is not covered by either health plans provided for by employers or Medicare can purchase healthcare coverage via Health Care for America.
This implies that the government will ensure that all citizens and legal residents are not discriminated against by the cost of obtaining healthcare services.
Under the reforms, the United States employers are required to provide their employees with health care coverage comparable to Health Care for American or alternatively pay employees a proper payroll-based tax in order to give support to the program of Health Care for America and assist the employees to purchase their own health coverage.
This healthcare plan is very good even for the immigrants since the Congress had passed an anti-discrimination legislation embodied in the Civil Rights Act of the year 1964; this was also past in the Voting Rights Act of 195 (O’Connor, Sabato, and Yanus 135). This implies that irrespective of one’s economic status, it will still be possible for one to afford a better healthcare coverage.
However, it remains a fact that President Obama’s healthcare reforms are expensive. This is one of the grounds on which they have been criticized. The modes of funding the reforms are likely to be burdensome to many American citizens who work hard to earn their money.
Hence, the Obama administration should carry on with the reforms but find alternative funding sources. In other words, the reforms are good, but they should not place selective burden on a section of citizens while favoring the other.
Conclusion
The healthcare services in the United States should not be left to the private sector. Doing this will deny low income class from accessing quality healthcare services. Therefore, both the government and the private sector should be involved.
Again, it is important to state that President Obama’s healthcare reforms are a step in the right direction since they will make access to quality healthcare services possible for most American citizens irrespective of their economic, political and social statuses.
Works Cited
McKenna, George, and Feingold Stanley. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Political Issues, 17th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2011. Print.
O’Connor, Karen, Sabato Larry, and Yanus Alixandra. Essentials of American Government: Roots and Reforms, 2009 edition. United States: Longman, 2011. Print.