OPINION: Is ‘Obamacare’ enough, or too much?
From the left: MIke McPhie
In 2010, President Obama signed a bill that achieved what Republicans and Democrats alike have been pursuing for decades: health care reform. The issue has plagued the country for years. With the cost of health care rising at an unprecedented rate and insurance companies adopting troubling practices, quality health care was becoming an exclusive club available only to those who could afford it.
Before the law was passed, more than 50 million Americans were uninsured, more than in any other industrialized country. People with chronic illnesses were denied coverage, and thousands of people were left to die simply because they couldn’t afford the high cost of care or insurance. Americans have always believed in equal opportunity, and why should health care be any different? No one should have to make the choice between life-saving medical care and their checkbook.
The signature legislation of Obama’s presidency is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The law ensures that everyone is given access to health insurance, provides inexpensive care for those who need it and allows those who are happy with their current insurance plans to keep them. It allows young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance instead of burdening them with health care costs when they are trying to get an education and start a career. Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. It strengthens coverage for seniors while lowering the cost of prescription drugs. It provides tax credits for businesses that offer health benefits for their employees. In addition to covering the millions of people who will no longer be uninsured, the law reduces the deficit by $216 billion over the next decade.
While I wish I could give entire credit for the law to President Obama and the democratic Congress, Governor Mitt Romney was the first to implement the idea in Massachusetts. “Romneycare” was so effective that it became the basis for the current law. Costs were lowered, 98 percent of the population of Massachusetts became insured and the quality of care improved. As Mitt put it in 2007, “If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing it, then that will be a model for the nation.”
Unfortunately, Romney now believes the exact opposite of what he did in 2006 and wants to repeal the law he inspired, leaving millions uninsured. Luckily for the American people, the Constitution doesn’t give that power to any president, though he vows to undermine it in any way possible. His current plan to cut Medicare and Medicaid would eliminate benefits and leave many simply hoping they don’t get sick.
Many people have called health care reform “Obamacare,” and it couldn’t be more accurate. Obama does care. He cares about the millions of Americans now able to afford insurance, about the sick who no longer have to spend fortunes on medical care and the healthy who don’t have to worry about how to pay for coverage. He has done more than any president in history to promote well-being and guarantee that everyone has access to health care in our pursuit of a more prosperous nation.
– Mike McPhie is a senior from Toole, Utah, majoring in law and constitutional studies. During the spring semester, he interned in Washington, D.C. Send him comments at mike.mcphie@aggiemail.usu.edu.
From the right: Casey Saxton
Do you remember the line, “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it,” by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi? It will probably go down in history as being one of the most infamous phrases in American politics. She was referring to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare: the law that provides the government with nearly full control over the nation’s health care system, including the controversial Supreme Court-upheld mandate for all Americans to purchase health insurance.
There are a couple goodies tucked in to th
e hundreds of pages of law that proponents like to point out, including one portion that allows for people with pre-existing health conditions to be able to get health insurance as well as a stipulation that allows young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until 26 years old. Aside from those two goodies which, in my opinion, seem to be the only positive aspects of the whole law, the rest of it is a nightmare.
A few of the more awful parts: The mandate includes forcing religious institutions to pay for health insurance for their employees that would provide contraceptives as part of the coverage plan, regardless of the religious views of the institution, the creation of an unelected board of people who will have near-absolute control over the Medicare budget and a $595 billion cut from the already financially unstable Medicare program to pay for parts of Obamacare. I won’t even mention the reports the CBO has published about what Obamacare will do to our already-horrendous national debt.
Simple economics tells you when demand goes up, prices also go up. With millions of currently uninsured people being forced to purchase health insurance – which they will undoubtedly use if they are paying for it – surely demand for health care will go up, thus causing an increase in health care costs and longer waiting periods to see the doctor. The only people or organizations I see benefiting from that mess are the insurance companies who will be receiving millions of new customers.
Mitt Romney has vowed to grant a waiver to all 50 states to stop the implementation of Obamacare on day one of his presidency and will subsequently work with Congress to officially repeal the whole law. It seems the election of Mitt Romney will be the last chance to get rid of the government takeover of our health care system. The repeal of Obamacare will allow Congress to hit the drawing boards again to come up with something that is less intrusive, less costly and less bureaucratic that will suit our nation better.
– Casey Saxton, a sophomore majoring in business administration, is the president of the USU College Republicans. He can be reached at caseysaxton@hotmail.com.