Thesis on "Obama's Health Care Plan"

Thesis 12 pages (4599 words) Sources: 10

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Obama Administration's health care plan is one that some people praise and other people seem to fear. With that in mind, it is very important to know what is really in the plan, especially when it comes to the 'public option' that so many people seem to be concerned about.

Annotated Bibliography

A Liberal Supermajority (2008). The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: http://online.wsj. com/article/SB122420205889842989.html. Micro-simulation is based on utility-maximizing and how individuals choose insurance plans. It allows for variation among a lot of different variables, including both price and income. This kind of modeling is very important because it combines an individual's characteristics and behavior in order to best determine how a person, or a subgroup, within a population would react to policy change on any given level. They can be subject to selection bias, however, which can make them unreliable. (a Liberal Supermajority, 2008).

Burman, L. et al. (2008). An updated analysis of the 2008 presidential candidates' tax plans: Revised August 15, 2008. Tax Policy Center. Retrieved from: http://www.taxpolicycenter .org/UploadedPDF/411749_updated_candidates.pdf. While it might not seem evident how a tax plan could have anything to do with a health care plan, what Obama said during his campaign regarding taxes and what he has done so far -- as well as what he is working toward doing in the future -- can give insight into what he may do with health care in the future. In other words, whether he keeps his promises is something that can be extrapolated from tax plans and other information. (Burman, et al., 2008).

D'Angelo, G., & Winfree, P.L. (2008). The Obama health care plan: A closer look at cost and coverage. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved from: http://www.heritage.org/Research / Healthcare/wm2114.cfm. According to D'Angelo and Winfree, the Obama health care plan would cost much more than expected while saving the average family very little. Because of that, many analysts find the Obama plan to be a poor one, based on 'if only' assumptions that may or may not come true. If things go 'right,' the plan could be a good one. If they do not, there could be serious financial and medical consequences. With that in mind, it is important to note that this research came from two different 'authorities,' and these companies have differing opinions. (D'Angelo & Winfree, 2008).

Feldman, R. Tomai, L, & Duran, S. (2008). Impact of Barack Obama 2008 Health Reform Proposal. HSI Network. Retrieved from: http://www.hsinetwork.com/Obama_HSI-Assess_08-21-2008.pdf. Clearly, the reform that Obama is talking about when it comes to health care is very significant. There are those who feel it is just what the country needs, and those who feel as though it will end in disaster, but there are few clear-cut, provable, factual issues regarding it. Most of it appears to be speculation and opinion, since the details of the plan have not yet been released. The idea of health care reform is clearly having a serious impact on the country, polarizing it like few things have before, and it will continue to do so, even long after it is settled. (Feldman, Tomai, & Duran, 2008).

Feldman, et al. (2005). Health savings accounts: Early estimates of national take-up. Health Affairs, 24(6), 1582-1591. Retrieved from: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/24 / 6/1582. The health savings account has long been touted as one of the ways for a person to save for medical costs or a catastrophic event such as a serious accident or disease. However, the rising costs of medical care have made most of these savings accounts obsolete because people cannot possibly save enough money to handle serious illnesses and injuries. With health insurance for everyone, the argument could be made that these accounts would no longer be necessary. (Feldman, et al., 2005).

Moffit, R.E. Ph.D., & Owcharenko, N. (2008). The Obama health care plan: More power to Washington. Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 2197. Retrieved from: www.herit age.org/research/health care/bg2197.cfm. Moffit and Owcharenko discuss the Obama plan in more detail than most people, addressing the concerns that a lot of the public has about the plan, the costs of it, and what kind of coverage it will really provide. If it will be like the Canadian system, where people sometimes have to wait many months for important procedures, there will be many people who will reject it. Additionally, giving Washington more power is not something that sits well with many Americans today, so that is a significant hurdle for Obama. (Moffit & Owcharenko, 2008).

Obama for America. (2008). Barack Obama and Joe Biden's plan to lower health care costs and ensure affordable, accessible health coverage for all. Retrieved from: http://www.barack obama.com/pdf/issues/Health careFullPlan.pdf. According to Obama and Biden, the health care that they are proposing will not only provide coverage to millions of Americans who currently do not have it and cannot afford it, but it will make that coverage accessible to everyone in a way that they can afford it. They will provide subsidies for those who cannot afford it on their own -- but having health insurance will be mandatory, and those who do not purchase it will be fined. (Obama, 2008).

Pauly, M.V. (2008). Blending better ingredients for health reform. Health Affairs, 27(6), w482-w491. Retrieved from: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.27.6.w482 / DC1. Health care reform cannot work with only one idea or plan. There are several plans being considered, and whether any of them are passed will remain to be seen. The best and most logical way to get one of these plans to pass is to give the American public what it wants -- lower cost health care that is offered to everyone, and where everyone can choose what company and plan they want to use, so that they do not feel as though they are restricted to just one option or that they are forced into health care choices that they would not normally make for themselves but now have to because of their plan or the reforms that have been put in place for their group and/or income bracket. (Pauly, 2008).

Sack, K. (2008). On health plans, the numbers fly. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/us/politics/22health.html?hp. Just what the numbers mean in Obama's health plan is something to think about, but it is not the only issue. It is also important to realize that there are several plans out right now. They are circulating in the House and Senate, and they are all versions of the same plan -- but yet they are very different. The public option, the cost of the plan, and all kinds of other issues are at stake, and a lot of people are wondering just what kind of plan will be passed. They do not have enough information to know if the plan is good or bad for them, overall. (Sack, 2008).

The Lewin Group. (2007). Summary description of the health benefits simulation model (HBSM). Retrieved from: http://www.lewin.com/content/Files/HBSMSummary.pdf. Understanding more about health benefits overall, and why people choose the options that they choose, is very important when looking at the Obama Administration's health care plan. This is due to the fact that the plan must not only be a good one, but also one that the public as a whole finds valuable. Simulating which people would accept what kind of plan can help those who are working to create the plan tailor something that works but that is also accepted by the largest number of people. If this is not done, a plan could fail even though it has many good points to it. (the Lewin Group, 2007).

Article Synthesis

According to the article by D'Angelo and Winfree (2008), there are serious concerns surrounding the Obama Administration's health care plan. It is no secret that the plan is very ambitious, and many people seem to feel that it is too ambitious in that it will be difficult to pay for and will not work as well as it should. But is that accurate? Largely, that depends on who is asked that question. The article looked at here addresses the opinions of more than one expert in the field in order to help determine whether the Obama health care plan is really everything that the Administration claims it to be (D'Angelo & Winfree, 2008). The key point with regard to these differing opinions is that it is not just about money. There are also concerns about whether a person would still get the same kind of and quality of coverage that he or she receives now, if the Obama health care plan passes and is eventually signed into law.

The number of uninsured people in America would be reduced, but by how much is a matter of the opinions of various experts conducting studies for specific institutions and organizations (D'Angelo & Winfree, 2008). Also, how much it would cost and how it would be paid for remains to be seen. There are estimates, but that is all that they can possibly be at this point. It is not possible to come up with clear and distinct numbers that… READ MORE

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