The Solution to America's Healthcare Problems

Medical bills at some of the top hospitals
are at their highest rates ever leaving some
patients in a tough position to make the payment [i]

Nobody in the United States, I repeat NOBODY, wants to be left helpless at the hospital with a sick family member unable to pay for their treatment. Too many times have people been left at the door without having a chance to help themselves. Too often, people are denied coverage.  Too many times have I heard stories from my mom about patients of hers not being able to afford the medical bills they've piled up. Stories filled with pain and struggle like the ones listed [ii] are the reason that Barack Obama is looking to make a change. 

To see how Obamacare will impact you feel free to visit this user-friendly website.  [iii]

I believe that Obamacare, although currently not fully up and running, will be the future of American healthcare. Through  division between the public and private healthcare industries and the provision of basic liberties like healthcare and self-choice, I believe that Obamacare is rightly justified. Just like when Medicare and Social Security were put into place under Lyndon Baines Johnson, Obamacare has faced opposition towards its establishment. Although initially predicted to be costly and time-consuming[iv], given the necessary time to develop, I believe Obamacare can flourish into the building-blocks of American healthcare.

Throughout much of history, the United States has strived to undergo health care reform and work towards providing healthcare to every American. Today, “About 44 million people in this country [still] have no health insurance, and another 38 million have inadequate health insurance.[v]"

To Obama, this was a major issue of today's America especially during poor economic times. As a solution, Obama proposed the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act also known as Obamacare. President Obama when announcing the passage of the constitutionality of Obamacare[vi] by the Supreme Court and Justice John Roberts, stated, “Here in America, in the wealthiest nation on earth, no illness or accident should lead to any family’s financial ruin.” For more on Obama’s opinion feel free to check out the video[vii] which outlines what Obamacare will provide residents of the U.S.

       

Currently, the majority of the healthcare companies are privately owned and have free-reign on healthcare standards, but with the signing of Obamacare, things are changing. Obamacare, allows for the government to provide people with public healthcare and restructure how it's administered and funded, but it requires all Americans to have purchased any form of healthcare before 2014 or else they will face fines or heavier taxes[viii]. Although this law tries to solve this American problem, it has been met with harsh criticism from politicians and lawyers.[ix]

David Rivkin, well-renown American attorney 

and political writer, looks to explain the 

possible problems behind Obamacare

When looking at Obamacare, I believe that its justness boils down to two main things. How it divides the public and private sectors of healthcare providers through law and how it provides everyone, even the least-advantaged, with natural liberties everyone deserves.

Thanks to the Obamacare legislation, the American healthcare industry is divided in a way that the likes of Acklesberg and Shanley would be proud. Through the division, it has placed a larger portion of the healthcare industry under government control. This will not only regulate prices and the distribution of healthcare, but provide society with common ground. Furthermore, it helps define the public sector, giving it a clear function within society and its limitations. Acklesberg and Shanley have defined private as a “natural freedom free from relations of power and domination properly understood”[x] which equates to the private healthcare industry to be in complete control of its prices and quality. I believe this is a great option, but they do not receive some of the benefits from the government that the public may recieve. 

Obama controlling the provision of healthcare to Americans [xi]

Although I think the argument is straightforward, this may seem as government evolving into a monopoly having complete control over the public sector while leaving the private sector to remain undeveloped and uncontrolled. But, through John Rawl’s justice theory, I truly believe that the government having control of the public sector will help clean up healthcare and will stop corruption in the private industries, elaborated in this video. 

"At 6 months old, Stacey's daughter Zoe was halfway to her lifetime cap. But because the Affordable Care Act prohibits health plans from setting a lifetime dollar limit on most benefits, Zoe can now live a life without limits." [xii]

Through the basic structure of the constitution and laws of society, Rawls believes we must, "take the basic structure as the primary subject of justice"[xiii]. The public sector for Rawls must be defined within certain rules established by our laws and the constitution. Although the private sector, has a large gap between the rich and the poor due, in the public, the legislation Obamacare looks to bridge it, bringing people closer. By allowing for the government to standardize the health care industry by law, it has complete control over the regulation of prices and benefits people may receive from healthcare providers. 

Personally, I think the best thing that comes out of this divide is that the community is not restricted to one side. The community can choose the higher-quality, more-expensive private healthcare, or the more-affordable public healthcare. The CHOICE whether private or public healthcare is right for you is still available and is one of the best FREEDOMS there is and is what makes Obamacare just.

For more on the public opinion and the freedom of choice, explore this reading [xiv] from Alyene Senger.

Obamacare is currently not a fully-supported idea within the U.S. Some people believe Obamacare could cause problems for healthcare providers similar to Canadian Healthcare issues as summarized below[xv]:

Obamacare has been misinterpreted to cause problems
listed above but lacks to take into account the
number of people it will help [xvi]

Although Obamacare may greatly increase the number of patients doctors have for the same or possibly less pay and may slow down the provision of healthcare, it still provides the United States with the best option for the healthcare problem it currently has. The new health insurance will make payments affordable and accessible to nearly all Americans on any budget. 

Doctors feel helpless under Obamacares
ruling but in reality they play the biggest role [xvii]

Did you know 60% of people who go bankrupt are pushed over the edge by mounting medical bills? Although this may seem like a tough position, the government will provide public healthcare providers with certain benefits for providing a more relaxed cost of healthcare. It will also provide people that utilize public healthcare with financial tax breaks to help ease the price of insurance against their income. 

I believe that on top of this, it is too hard to put a price on life and in hard economic times, taking a few price cuts here and there for a healthier society shouldn't be too hard. In an ethical world, saving a life is far more important than earning a few extra dollars. 

Through this equal playing ground, I believe that America has found its best option for healthcare insurance. It not only narrows the gap between those who may not have been able to afford healthcare and those that could, but it allows for a more clear definition of the public and private sector giving people the freedom to choose between either. Freedom of choice and the inability to put a price on life in the end is what makes Obamacare a just and proper course of action for the United States.

[i]InsuranceNightmare,http://img2.timeinc.net/health/images/gallery/living/mebills-insurance-nightmare-400.jpg

[ii] Sarah Klein, Health Insurance Horror Stories, http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20315060,00.html

[iii] Obama and Biden, Healthcare, http://www.barackobama.com/health-care

[iv] Kim Bhasin, CHEESECAKE FACTORY CEO: Obamacare Will Be 'Very Costly', http://www.businessinsider.com/cheesecake-factory-obamacare-2012-12

[v] Paul Schied,  “The Health Care Constitutional Contrversy,” Harvard Political Review, 28 April. 2011: n. pag. Harvard Political Review, Web. 18 Apr. 2012 <http://hpronline.org>.

[vi] ABC News, Health Care Ruling: Supreme Court Stunner, 28 Aug. 2012

[vii] "This is a victory for the people", Barack Obama, June 28th 2012, http://cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/06/28/sot-obama-healthcare-upheld.cnn

[viii] Schied.

[ix] Schied.

[x] Martha A. Acklesberg, Mary Lyndon Shanley, Privacy, Publicity, Power, pg. 214

[xi] The Times Picture, Obamacare, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdh4JKDCMe_NQ8caBEUwdcN7UXkw9d4jYFSZJqn97Pdzj5EBKNWkYWH2kJucA85JJ_wFsx1dzAs19bMqOStZLaN0Vh40CkL4VsYbzqSoA9L07FloRf2j9o98TtiiI5Y8_zeJcrOkLQaWV/s320/Obamacare+Cartoon.jpg

[xii] Barack Obama Dot Com, Faces of Change: Life Without Limits http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv26zzUMVjc

[xiii] John Rawls, The Difference Principle, pg. 63

[xiv] Alyene Senger, The Public Option: Alive and Well in Obamacare, http://blog.heritage.org/2012/11/15/the-public-option-alive-and-well-in-obamacare/

[xv] Brian Day, 2 Mar. 2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRTZwhqhseA 

[xvi] Gary Calhoun, Obamacare Side Effects, https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTOVlqKFPhSAHt0CrX2aq7DXBMwNT3yS2rUeXU9vhzCa_krRJPRPw

[xvii] Creators.com, Doctor Malpractice in Obamacare, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyxb0yXQMnaimSKPsDfM9nUD3MFLGcx_x5ejh6w39b3SZgkjcqAPEMV2LOTeA3MEO9ieOhEzZvfkwCfkPqWownyi-aPvDuzHS3ajKO2qIFJe0bESlRj47m6aZ_gkQZg4ZdyXkaNmR1DA/s320/cartoon+828.jpg