On Nov. 2, a few of my classmates and I gathered at a bar to watch the election results. As red started to take over the map, the topic of conversation became the impending second term for Bush. Since we were all medical students, an especially prominent topic of conversation was the health care system.
Basically, the health care system that President Bush is implementing is based on tax cuts and a greater privatization of the insurance system.
In terms of the uninsured, Bush's plan is made up of tax credits for families and individuals to pay insurance premiums and to establish Health Savings Accounts, HSAs.Along with that plan, there are Association Health Plans, AHPs, in the works, which would benefit small business workers.This plan allows small businesses to collaborate in negotiations with insurance companies, to provide their employees better health coverage.He plans to extend the AHPs to civic, charity, and faith based organizations to allow for a larger distribution of health care coverage. To increase competition and reduce the costs for the health care recipients the Bush administration wants to make health care available across state lines, because today purchasing health care is only available in an individual's state of residency.
Bush's plan for the uninsured is concerning to many people because it largely ignores many of the uninsured.As one of my classmates, Jeffrey Wilson, stated, "We have the best health care in the world if you have the money and the means, but there is a wide disparity, and if we ration medical care it needs to be addressed."
The HSAs may help some of the middle class, but many of the needier individuals will not benefit from such a tax cut.
On the other hand, opening and expanding community and rural health centers to serve the needs of 6.1 million people in medically underserved areas is part of the health care reform. While increasing rural medical centers is exceedingly difficult because of the economics of bringing physicians and proper medical care to rural areas, addressing the problem is a necessary first step.
In terms of the healthcare of the elderly, the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, provides $600 a year for the impoverished elderly to pay for prescription drugs.By 2006, the law will be different in that it will cost $35 dollars a month for the prescription drug benefit and they pay the initial $250 in drug expenses, the insurance will pay for 75 percent of drug costs up to $2,250 a year and 95 percent of "catastrophic drugs."
Karen Bruner, my classmate and head of the Health Policy Club, expressed a concern with this prescription drug plan when she said, "The prescription drug benefit is confusing, and there is a big hole in the plan which does not cover many of the needy elderly."
The problem is that the gap between the $2,250 and the "catastrophic drug" cost level is $3,600 which the seniors are 100 percent responsible for out of their own pockets.
As an additional means to aid the elderly, President Bush has pushed for tax breaks for Long Term Care Insurance, which is an insurance to provide for the lengthening and expensive post-retirement health care.Accordingly, people to take care of chronically ill family members are proposed to be eligible for tax cuts as well.
While tax breaks are a large part of his plan, Bush's plan to control health care costs also includes medical liability reform, and promoting health information technology.The central issue of the medical liability reform is a cap on non-economic damages at $250,000 medical malpractice harm.This action has been lauded by the American Medical Association as a means to keep the soaring medical liability premiums from taking physicians out of practice.The cap has proven to be effective in California with the Medical Insurance Compensation Reform Act of 1976, which has kept the growth of malpractice premiums in California to a third of the rest of the nation's growth since that time.
The health information technology that is being promoted is the creation of electronic health records that are universally accessible by health care providers.This will supposedly streamline the system by allowing health care providers access to patient information in a timely manner. Costly tests will be run with more efficiency and many precautionary exams will be unnecessary.For example, a patient who comes into a new hospital presenting with a heart problem would be more efficaciously treated with readily available existing test results that show his prior heart condition.
Karen also expressed a common major concern with the Bush health care plan, "There are over 40 million uninsured people in this country, and his plan is not going to cover very many of them."
Striking a balance between providing health insurance for as many citizens as possible and providing high quality health care for everyone is certainly not simple.While Bush's plan makes some attempt at providing health care for the uninsured, there are many that are not addressed.His desire to streamline the medical system and cut the costs of health care seems reasonable, and is a step in the right direction.However, his plan leaves much to be desired.The way I see it there is only one resolution.Vote for me. Fatemi 2024.
Read More
Virginia primary elections feature contested race for Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate
By Nicolas Biernacki | 3 hours agoEligible voters can find more information about early voting by consulting the City Department of Voter Registration & Elections website or the County Department of Elections website.
Professor and researcher Daniel Flannery discusses youth violence and prevention
By Jackie Bond | 11 hours agoDr. Daniel Flannery discussed the cycle of violence from adolescence to adulthood, and the correlation between unrestricted gun access and mass violence.
Board of Visitors ends support for racial diversity goals
By Brendon Bordwine | 23 hours agoThe newly approved resolution, titled “Advancing Free Inquiry and Viewpoint Diversity at U.Va.”, calls for efforts to create a campus environment that supports open political dialogue, constructive debate and respect for differing perspectives.
