Tuesday, March 14, 2017
How Republicans want to change the health-insurance market
How Republicans want to change the health-insurance market
http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/03/economist-explains-12
This is a really interesting article recently posted on Economist's website. This discusses some of the potential downfalls of replacing the Affordable Care Act, along with pros and cons of the current ACA and the new healthcare plan that plans to replace it. One of the populations most impacted by this is low income elderly folks. I find this particularly disconcerting because many may not have the physical ability to make more income to help pay for the rise in their insurance premiums, if their plans change.
I am curious to hear what other have to share about this, as this is a very nuanced topic.
Sam Stull
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The new health care bill repeals the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which provides twelve percent of the CDC’s budget. The CDC, which has responded to more than 750 health emergencies in the past two years, will not have enough funding to respond to emergencies. Lots of things that we take for granted, such as obtaining vaccines, will become more difficult. The Prevention Fund provides forty percent of the CDC’s immunization program funding. The bill will make Americans less safe and healthy.
In my opinion, the "American Dream" includes having publicly funded health care. Having high premiums makes health care unaffordable for everyone which in turn will decrease economic growth. Vaccinations help prevent epidemics from spreading and because funding for vaccines is going to decrease, I think the World Health Organization will need to step in to prevent plagues and epidemics from spreading.
I understand from medical professionals, that they increase their own rates for a visit because insurance companies will not pay them the full amount. So they charge more in hopes that the percentage insurance companies pay will be the amount they needed in the first place. Unfortunately, without the affordable care act this will continue as medical professionals still have a costs they need to cover.
There is no easy solution. There will be sacrifices to whatever bill is signed into law. But healthcare should not be designed to help the healthy and wealthy, its purpose is to set up a system where people subsidize each other so that it is affordable for everyone.
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