According to the website healthreform.gov, President Obama's new plan will not affect those of us who are already covered under health insurance plans. However, I can't help but think that this statement couldn't be farther from the truth.
According to "The Obama Plan", those of us with insurance will only receive more stability and security, but I can't help but think that the entire insurance market will change once this plan in implemented. The government will become another competitor for those independent companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield. How then will those companies respond when they start losing customers to the governments subsidized plan? By upping the price for those customers that stay of course.
Too much emphasis is being placed on a certain type of American without insurance and how this can be a positive effect on their lives; little is being done on the end for those Americans who could possible be hurt by this reform. More research needs to be done before we go diving into a huge reform that could change our entire economic climate.
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Very true. If 47 million people do not have health insurance then that means 261 million do (estimating the US population to be 308 million). But then that's still about 15 percent of Americans without healthcare. I believe the way Democrats are appealing to Republicans has been messy and not until now have the Democrats come up with more concrete solutions for health reform.
ReplyDeleteBut to offer another view point, the 261 million people with healthcare and the 47 million without are two different markets. If the less affluent, 47 million Americans receive government healthcare there will be no direct competition.
How would the price of coverage go up?
Sources:
http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html
http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml
I agree with Rachel, Obama's Plan will ultimately make the united states Government in charge of all Insurance companies public or private. This is what the united states has been against for years... Capitalism! This will give The ability of the government to enter the market place with a good or service and charge what ever the market will bear. Eliminating all competition throughout the private insurance companies
ReplyDeleteOwen you make a good point, but Recent information shows that whatever the government touches ultimately ends up getting ruined for instance, Medicare/Postal Service/ Social Security ETC. Obama putting the Government in charge of Health Care will make the private insurance companies suffer if not eliminate them as a whole. People without health care will be put on the same levels of those who pay for health care. If people without insurance suddenly get insured this will pose a problem because why would someone who is paying for health care keep paying, if those who can not afford it get the same benefits. Blue Cross Blue Shield will lose significant amount of its customers because people will start switching over to public insurance companies due to it being more affordable. As a whole I feel that Obama's new plan will not work and end up creating even more debt within the U.S by giving full control of Health care to the Government.
Sources:
* http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health-care
* http://johnltdo5455.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/latest-news-on-social-security-medicare-debt-show-inability-of-government-to-make-accurate-financial-predictions/
* http://www.capitalism.org/
Rachel makes a very good point here. "The Obama Plan" will hurt many people in America and force them to change healthcare plans. Another point that she could have used to strengthen her argument would be the people who will lose their jobs if "The Obama Plan" is passed. Many people who work for insurance companies are sure to lose their job if people are forced to switch insurance providers. Obama has promised to create jobs for Americans, but his health care plan is sure to make even more people unemployed.
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