Reforming Health Care Will Strengthen the Economy
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Reforming Health Care Will Strengthen The Economy.
Then current president of the United States of America, president Barrack Obama argues that through the reformation of the health care, the American economy will strengthen. I do concur with him on the matter. Rising costs of healthcare are stifling Americas small businesses, and the president believes that by reforming the health care system, these businesses and the economy in general will be strengthened. It is clear that these small businesses are the ones creating half of the new jobs in the America, but they also pay up to 18% more for the very same insurance plans as any other large businesses (Mike, 2009). Health insurance reform is integral to laying a new foundation for our economy so that small businesses can grow and create new jobs.
All Americans have expressed concerns about the cost of health insurance and other medical expenses. The United States spends about 16 percent of the countries gross domestic product on health care, significantly more per capita than any other nation in the world. America is the only industrialized country that does not mandate access to health insurance for all citizens.
Most Americans receive health insurance at a subsidized cost through their employers, and many Americans like the insurance they receive through this way. However, in an economic environment in which some of the Americans are concerned that they may lose their jobs, many of these people may also have worries of loosing their health insurance cover. Moreover, small companies do not provide insurance for their employees, and insurance purchased independently can be significantly more costly to individuals than that provided by their employer. The US government provides assistance through Medicare for those aged 65 and above in age and Medicaid for those with low incomes. In addition to all these, about fifteen percent of the US population does not have insurance (Robinson, 3). However, some of the uninsured are temporary and others who can afford insurance choose not to purchase it.
The president argues that by reforming the health care, the country would have been saving a lot in terms of expenses and this will therefore strengthen the economy. He further says that he needs a health care system in which all the people can have insurance coverage, whether young or old, poor or rich, but he does not mean that the united states will switch to a system that is being used many countries in Europe and in Canada in which citizens are automatically given taxpayer-supported insurance. He proposes that every American can have a health care cover and this can be achieved in so many ways. It is crystal clear that the American economy can be strengthened by employing the best health care system. Huge health expenditures account for a high percentage of medical expenses for private insurers (Herlinger, 22). The Obama plan would compensate the employer health plans for a portion of the catastrophic costs they incur above a threshold if they guarantee such savings are used to reduce the cost of workers premiums.
The president suggestion of reforming the health care system will also help a lot of patients in America through supporting disease management programs. It is clear that 75% of the total health care money is spent on patients ailing from one or more chronic conditions for instance diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. It would be required that providers that participate in the new public plan, Medicare or the Federal Employ Health Benefits Program utilize proven disease management programs (Kluchin, 7). This will improve quality care, give doctors better information and most importantly lower the costs. This lowering of costs in health care will mean expenses are lowered and thus strengthening the economy as there will be more money to do other projects.
Over 133 million Americans suffer from at east ore chronic disease. Aggregately, this will cost approximately 1.7 trillion dollars yearly. In the reform of health care agenda, the president offers to support implementation of programs and encourage team care that will improve coordination and integration of care of those with chronic conditions. This will require full transparency about quality and costs (Babbin, 15). The reform would require hospitals