For decades US Democrats have sought to provide universal health cover and their dream could soon be realised. Last Saturday night Barack Obama’s proposed healthcare reform bill scraped through and was passed by the House of Representatives.
The bill was passed by 220 votes to 215. Although this is a narrow victory, it is a huge milestone nonetheless. Cheers erupted as Nancy Pelosi, the house speaker, declared the victory. It is President Obama’s first significant domestic victory of his presidency.
Large parts of the health industry will be transformed by the new healthcare package, which currently accounts for a sixth of the US economy. People with pre-existing medical conditions will benefit as private insurers will no longer be able to deny them cover or drop it altogether when people become ill. The Bill also includes a government-run health insurance option to provide competition to private insurers.
Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms aim to provide affordable healthcare to 96% of US citizens. Considering the 2008 figures stated that 47 million people were uninsured and with the American population climbing to well over 300 million this would be a monumental achievement for the Obama administration and would be well worth the cost. Overall the Bill would provide cover for an additional 36 million Americans by 2019. Of those left without insurance, even after reform, approximately a third would be made up of illegal immigrants. The package is to be paid for by increasing tax by 5.4% but only on individuals earning more than $500,000 a year and on families with a combined income of more than $1 million. Obviously republicans are completely unsupportive of this policy. They are very critical on the tax increases, disagreeing with targeting the rich plus the massive $1.2 trillion price tag. Only one Republican, Joseph Cao from New Orleans, supported the bill along with 219 Democrats. Opposed were 176 Republicans and 39 Democrats.
The current healthcare system in the USA is very different from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). The NHS in the UK is funded by the government through taxes. In the United States health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector. Health insurance is primarily provided by the private sector and citizens need to take out insurance in order to have affordable access to healthcare with the exception of programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. If US citizens do not have insurance then they can end up with bills worth thousands of dollars for just a broken arm. Ambulances cost on average $500 a time. With a third of American citizens living under the poverty line how have the government taken so long to pass this bill for healthcare reform? Why does the American healthcare system need such reform and why during the summer were Americans all over the press bad-mouthing our NHS system? The answer, greedy, media spinning, Republicans. Both parties are currently running television adverts to promote their causes, the Republicans reporting that a vote for the health reform is a vote to stay in the economic recession.
Over summer, Republicans repeatedly bad mouthed the UK health system scaring many American citizens in to being against change. The British public were outraged that Americans believed the heavily exaggerated and twisted NHS statistics from biased Republican media sources. A lot of Americans are still ignorant of the benefits a system like the NHS serves. With free healthcare access to all being readily available without the need for high cost insurance policies, the NHS is an institution that many argue we could not do without.
The NHS without doubt has its drawbacks as it is not very cost effective but it does give equality to British citizens, that no matter how little you earn you will still be entitled to good healthcare service. BUPA and other private hospitals provide the extra support and services for those willing to pay, especially for specialist issues such as plastic surgery and dermatology. America need to go ahead with health reform in order to offer help to those in poverty and to stick to the core values of the Democrat Party.
Barack Obama has made healthcare reform a crucial part of his domestic agenda. The proposed reforms could see the biggest changes in American healthcare in our lifetime. It is crucial that Barack Obama passes a final reform bill through the senate before the end of 2009, as 2010 is a mid-term election year. Vulnerable democrats in conservative areas may refuse to back Obama’s final bill due to its high cost and unpopularity with some voters. All focus now turns to the Senate which must now come up with its own version of a health reform Bill. Barack Obama must make sure this Bill passes the Senate in order to continue his pursuit for successful healthcare reform.
One things is certain: the questions surrounding healthcare are ones that go to the core of American society, and the success or otherwise of Obama’s reforms could have an impact on American politics for a generation.
