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Domestic Intervention

13/11/2013

1 Comment

 

A Bottle of Dr Good !

For many Europeans the mysteries and mystic that lay behind the present United States health care system seem somewhat impenetrable, as currently the US private medical insurance scheme leaves some 45 million citizens without any medical protection. Moreover, if you include the number of US citizens that have only the most basic of medical cover, over a third of the nation's population lacks a level of care consummate with their health condition. In other words, approximately a 100 million US citizens will only be treated for their medical ailments once their condition becomes critical - life threatening.    

However,  Obama  seemed to offer  a way out of this unfair and unequal predicament, in the form of The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act. This in effect took away many of the obstructions to obtaining health care cover whilst offering federal financial support for the many citizens who could not afford the insurance premiums. What could be more straightforward? Ah, 'Obama care'  is many things to many people but what it is not is straightforward. Firstly, the funding of this policy, which was somewhat opaque to start with has become even more complex for although the US Supreme Court recently ruled that this bill was constitutional the element of enforcement whereby individual states contribute to the overall cost of this scheme was struck-down. So far over sixteen different States - all republican -  have decided not to play or pay meaning that the Federal cost automatically rises.By how much? Nobody seems to know.  Moreover, the computer system supporting this new scheme 'fell over' within the first few hours of operation due to inappropriate software, hardware and technical support, in other words, lack of investment. The current best government guess is that the system will be back on line by January!

If you have been one of the few lucky citizens that has managed to get onto the system and register -this takes about an hour - before it collapsed in a heap, then you might find out that your present limited protection enforced by pre-existing conditions can now be adjusted to offer you far better medical cover but obviously the cost rises. So, citizens can find they are now being included into an insurance scheme that once effectively excluded them but they remain excluded because they cannot afford the increased premiums. But, didn't you say the federal government would help? Well yes but because many states have now backed out of the system it remains unclear as to who will now pick up certain elements of the bill.  Now if you are slowly losing the will to live while reading this do not worry because you are in good company, since the federal government have little real idea as to how effective this new scheme will be or how much it will eventually cost. Why, because ultimately the cost of medical cover cannot be determined by the government but by the private medical insurance companies. So, if I was a opponent of this bill I would keep my own counsel since the people implementing this policy are doing a really effective job of ruining its prospects of success. If on the other hand, you are of those citizens waiting to join the scheme I would just suggest you keep taking the medication - that is if you can afford it.

KK           
1 Comment
Sidra link
5/6/2021 09:05:16 pm

This is very good and detailed article.

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    Dr J Ken Kennard Professor of Politics and History - Master Program in American Studies - Universiteit Gent

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