Creating an improved health care system is everyone’s objective who does not seek improvement? Or cut cost? Or covering all of the uninsured? But the big question is do we need universal healthcare? Do we really need it? Or do we need improvement of our current health care system and identifying clearly the problems by tackling them one by one.
Major concerns about a universal healthcare still unclear:
1- Cost:
President Obama in one of his town hall meeting has responded by outlining how he planned to fund the program, by eliminating medical-practice waste and insurance expenses, to cover two-thirds, and one-third by taxing those who make over $250,000 a year. Noting that he is in the higher-income bracket, Obama said, "There's nothing wrong with me paying a little more to help people with less."
But it is important to note that “Massachusetts’s universal health plan, long discussed as a possible model for the nation, is getting a $115 million haircut. Faced with lower revenues and a growing number of citizens who lost their jobs and their health insurance… Because of all of these new unexpected variables added the state didn’t have enough money to pay for insurance subsidies for needy residents under the current plan. Higher health care costs fueled a combined $9 billion gap in the state's 2009 and 2010 budgets that had to be closed last month, leaving less for education, public safety, the environment and other services.” (USA-Today, Richard Wolf)
Having clarified this if Massachusetts a state of 6.5 millions residents needed to cover a total of 680 000 uninsured were able to offer health insurance to 439,000 leaving 2.6% of the total population of the state or 115K without insurance. “As of June 30, 2008, the estimated number of uninsured had dropped to 2.6%. 115000 still uninsured” (Boston.com). In reality, Massachusetts needed to cover 680K and they were able to cover 439K which is only 65%of the uninsured. Additionally this has led a deficit in the budget by billions. My next question would be how would the government be able to cover currently 46 millions uninsured? Let us imagine they match Massachusetts performance because as we are all aware it is simply unlikely especially during the first years to cover all uninsured. It is fair to state by implementing the new universal system they will be leaving out of the 46 millions still 16 millions uninsured. Then will this be a failure or success? My biggest concern will still be the deficit that we are already facing which on top of this adding more deficit because of high unemployment, foreclosure rates, house values decreasing, the easy answer seems to be taxing citizens with a salary more than 250K but the money seems simply not to be there or not enough, to cover all of these new costs where you really will NOT be able to cover all of the uninsured especially in the first decade.
We also fail to notice that the cost of Insurance will increase with time, a fast growing population, unemployment rising, what is decreasing is the number of jobs, Revenue of companies decreasing, more debts, government bailing out large companies, stimulus packages, fighting 2 wars, global warning. We cannot simply continue printing money or we will be hit by inflation. These are the expected variables, usually you still have unexpected variables after taking into account all of these variables.
