Public+Policy+-+Health+Care

Daniel Serna Government 2302 Jefferies __Public Policy Paper__ One of the most vital resources that we need to survive is having a healthy body to accomplish our daily tasks. These tasks are what make this country function and the statistic revealed by the census which says that “47 million Americans are without health insurance” makes many worry. This current public policy issue is one of the main reasons that Obama was elected because of the reform that he wanted to bring to the healthcare system. Some of the issues associated with Obama’s plan for the healthcare reform are how it will impact the economy and how it will be funded. Some are worried that the cost will outweigh the benefits so efforts are being made to cut these costs. Other problems might be created by trying to solve the healthcare problem, and there are some unintended consequences that are arising because of it.
 * Health Care**

A contributing factor to the election of President Barrack Obama was his plan to reform the country’s healthcare system, especially since a large part of the population does not have health insurance. To be exact there are “Nearly 46 million Americans, or 18 percent of the population under the age of 65, were without health insurance in 2007” which was the date of the date of the Census and the latest government data available. The main reasons that many are without it is because they simply cannot afford it or they are employed by companies that do not provide it. Knowing this, Obama promised change and wanted to bring this philosophy into the healthcare world. Now that his first 100 days of his presidency have passed and he has wrapped up this past week of international diplomacy, his focus is now shifting to the crucial healthcare reform and “his diplomatic challenge will be nudging the large and controversial health-care reform package towards consensus on Capitol Hill.” As the deadline nears for the bill to be placed on the President’s desk, which is in October, much is still left to be determined concerning his healthcare reform. The plan has faced opposition, especially from republicans, and there are issues that it will arise in order for it to be successful, but many efforts are being made to eliminate and solve these issues. Some of the main issues are how the plan will be funded and how long it will take in order for the program to be ready to be implemented.

The hefty price tag of the healthcare reform is one of the large issues that seem to concern the opposing side and have contributed to the “virtual wall of opposition among Republicans.” The two sides are bumping heads over the “health-care battle” more now than ever because the plan is now being created by the House and Senate to put into the hands of the President.; as said by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel “When you get this close, you get a lot of heat.” Even though there is strong opposition, things have not gotten as far as they have progressed this year, and the plan has never been “this close to the goal line.” The reason for this is because there have been many plans that have been paid out to finance and pay for the health-care reform. One of the plans that have been created is the “surcharge on the wealthiest Americans to generate $550 billion in revenue to help pay for what is expected to be a cost of more than $1 trillion over then next 10 years.” Another plan that has been created is to cut the Medicare and Medicaid programs, “which would raise about $500 billion according to the Congressional Budget Office.” The last plan that has been created is the “funding from leading hospital industry groups of $155 billion in cost savings over 10 years, which will provide a boost to Obama’s plans.” All of these plans have made Obama’s ambitious plan to reshape the nation’s health care system and provide care to the 50 million uninsured even more possible. These three plans are examples of what is being done now to help the reform succeed. Many are worried that the short deadline that has been placed on the creation of the plan will have to be delayed. This is shown in a Washington Post article which says that “House Democratic leaders hope to enact the measure before Congress breaks in August, but in the Senate the timetable has slipped considerably.” Time is now limited and the upcoming opening of the confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the agenda are not helping the legislation.

The House and the Senate are working hard for the hopes of Obama to come true, and this has been revealed by the current action that has been taking place in order to get the plan accomplished. The part of government that is seeing the most action for the healthcare reform is Congress and as of now more action is taking place in the House than in the Senate, because “Democrats are edging away from their goal of passing health care legislation by early August amid heightening partisan controversy over tax increases and a proposed new government role in providing insurance to consumers.” There is a lot of action that is taking place simultaneously and the success of the health-care reform now lies in the hands of Congress. The Obama administration has given Congress an October deadline to deliver a bill, and he wants to get the proposal done by the August recess.

Obama has created an ambitious plan to reform the nation’s health care system. As the time nears for the proposal to be submitted and a bill to be passed, much action is taking place and it will be difficult to accomplish this task. Much is still left to be determined, but the finish line is in sight; now it is just a matter of how the plan will get there.