Health Care Reform Bill

Health Care Reform Bill

A majority of the Republican Presidential Candidates supports healthcare provided by private insurance companies, but with changes to the system. There are some proposals that include government participation, but mostly at the state, not federal, level.

Their healthcare policies mainly focuses on private insurance, with more competition and choices. The party does not support government-sponsored healthcare, but rather trying to make healthcare insurance more affordable. They want the healthcare system to increase with consumer choice, consumer control and real competition. Republicans believe it is important that we have price transparency within our health care system. This offers consumers, who are either enrolled in high deductible health plans or who pay out-of-pocket, the ability to shop around for the best prices and plan for health care expenditures (Himmelstein et.al. 2009).

Senator Brownback of Kansas wrote in his healthcare policy that ?the existing health insurance market forces consumers to pay for extra benefits in their premiums, such as aromatherapy and acupuncture, which tends to increase the cost of coverage. Instead, consumers should be able to choose the from health care coverage plans that are tailored to fit their families' needs and values.? Brownback thinks individuals should be allowed to purchase health insurance across state lines.

The Democrat Party wants families without insurance to get coverage at an affordable price. President Obama?s goal is to make a public health plan available nationwide for the uninsured, self-employed and small businesses, giving them access to benefits similar to those available to members of Congress. He wants families with insurance to pay less and get more security and choices, and businesses and other employers to find it cheaper and easier to cover their workers. Obama also wants to provide affordable, complete and portable health coverage for every American, modernizing the U.S. health care system to contain rising health care costs and improve the quality of patient care, and strengthening public health to prevent disease and protect against natural and man-made disasters (Blendon Kim Benson 2001).

The elderly believes the rising health care costs, constant gaps in the use of recommended services, and the threat of Medicare bankruptcy all weaken the health care that the program?s beneficiary need and deserve. They want guaranteeing access to affordable coverage for Americans who are of age 50 to 64. Senior citizens want access to generic versions of biologic drugs used to treat cancer and other serious diseases to reduce the price of the costly treatments. They also want to prevent costly hospital readmissions by creating a follow-up care benefit in Medicare to help people safely transition home after a hospital stay. Senior citizens would also like improving programs that help low income Americans in Medicare afford the health care and prescription drugs they need (Neubauer 1993).

Although doctors don?t have a lot of say in the issue, they do want to keep a few things. The American Medical Association (AMA) is the largest medical association of physicians in the nation and they represent physicians from every state and ...