In the unveiling of the thrice-revised health care reform plan Monday, President Barack Obama revealed he has dedicated close to $1 trillion to the decade-long compromise that would permit the government to reject the astronomical insurance premium rates.
Health insurance has eluded many American for years as the astronomical premium rates have become increasingly out of control and unmanageable. At the start of his term, President Obama went on the offensive straight away, crafting a health care reform plan that would make insurance available to most everyone.
The plan has seen several roadblocks largely due to its failure to meet bipartisan compromises, an issue that stopped it dead only a day before it would have been passed. Republicans were nearly unanimous in their opposition toward the bill, with select Democrat supporters changing their position at the last moment. Eventually the election of a Republican senator at the last moment turned the legislation on its side and brought the administration back the drawing board.
Now, a year after its initial introduction, major compromises have been made though many still believe there haven’t been enough. Reports from Washington have indicated the new health care reform plan is strikingly similar to the one rejected only a month ago, only this one is more comprehensive. The plan is seen as something of an opening bid and will surely endure further comment and constructional alterations when view by the Senate.
The White House announced the plan would be able to supply coverage for 31 million plus Americans who are currently without insurance with no additional cost the federal deficit. Certainly, this would seem attractive on the surface, but that is not convincing Republicans who view the change as undermining to the capitalistic nature of out nation and worry about the effect it would have on insurance companies and the level of health care available.
With this in made, the altered plan threw out a government insurance plan originally pursued by democrats but rejected wholly by conservatives and even by several moderates. It also works to win support by including Senate-passed restrictions on federal funding for abortion that have been rejected on all fronts.
Additionally the health care reform plan introduced today would grant the federal government with the authority to regulate the health insurance industry like any other public utility. The Health and Human Services Department along side state departments would have the power to approve of deny premium increases and police the number of rebates received.
As originally proposed, the plan would demand nearly all Americans to have health insurance coverage, made possible by federal subsidies to make premium costs more affordable. Greater accessibility would also come in the form of insurance companies being unable to reject people with medical problems from coverage.
In terms of making the plan more appealing to conservatives, the reformed version has cut back funding from $150 billion to $30 billion.
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