Obamacare and Trumpcare

The US is a developed country with high living conditions. Its healthcare system is believed to be one of the best in the whole world, and only several European countries can boast a better one. However, there were many debates on the issue of whether health insurance should be mandatory for all Americans or not. Today, the US experiences a huge problem with the number of uninsured citizens. According to the estimates, in 2012, about 46 million Americans, in other words, 15% of the entire population, had no health insurance and could not afford to go to the hospital even with the simplest problems (Bogden). Furthermore, nowadays, many Americans think that health insurance is too expensive so that they cannot afford it at all.

2010 has become the crucial year in the healthcare history of the United States since Obamacare was created by the American ex-President, Barack Obama. This initiative has decreased the number of uninsured from 48 million in 2010 to 28 million in 2017 (10.3% of Americans) (Luhby). However, the new President, Donald Trump, has another viewpoint on the solution to the problem with healthcare. Trumpcare is an alternative program that cancels Obamacare. According to the new initiative, people will be able to decide whether they want to be insured or not. This new program has not been launched yet since it has many disadvantages. Some people think that Trumpcare is populism since it will only cause more problems in healthcare.

Efficient healthcare is one of the major duties of any state. Thus, the U.S. government should make many reforms in healthcare in order to make it the most convenient for American citizens. Obamacare is not perfect, but it has many positive results; the expectations of Trumpcare are quite different. Despite many disadvantages, Obamacare is much more effective than Trumpcare can ever become.

The Economic, Legal, and Political Aspects of the National Healthcare

The main obstacle that faces healthcare in the United States today is its price. It makes great contributions to the budget of the state but, at the same time, the government spends more than gets. The U.S. medical industry is the one that is the most costly for the state in the whole world. The nation spends about $1 trillion per year on healthcare (Johnson). In comparison, France, the second biggest-spender, allocates less money to it by 50% (Johnson). Consequently, Trump offered a new program that was expected to contribute more to the economy of the country. However, it turned out that the new healthcare system would save only a few percent of the present spending on the industry.

Today, health insurance is mandatory since it translates to the safety of each person. No one can be sure that nothing will happen to him or her. In such a manner, the importance of mandatory health insurance cannot be underestimated. However, there are many arguments against general health insurance since it violates the human right to health. For instance, more than 700,000 families become bankrupts annually due to the high price of health insurance (Health Care in the United States).

The infrastructure of hospitals is also criticized since it is the worst one among high-developed countries. Many citizens argue that hospitals are located mainly in wealthy areas. Furthermore, the lack of nurses and doctors is huge today. It is no wonder since the price of medicine constantly increases, while salaries of medical personnel stay the same. In addition, race and gender discrimination is still present in healthcare.

The problem of reforming the healthcare sector has become an area of debates for the Democrats and Republicans. It has become a strong political instrument since both parties resorted to populism with the view to earning additional votes. In particular, the Republican Party disagreed with Obamacare and offered Trumpcare as an alternative one.

Therefore, the National Health Care is not only about caring for people’s lives but also about economic (many insurance companies have profit on health insurance, while the government spends much money on the healthcare) and political aspect (it is a way of manipulating voters). It is not perfect since it also violates the human right to health to a certain extent.

Consequences of Recent Laws

Both Obamacare and Trumpcare are a basis. Inline, additional laws are passed in order to complement those programs. In 2015, the law on healthcare was passed; it allowed providing subsidies on health insurance to people that buy insurance through the federal exchange (Cauchi). As a result of this law, about 7 million people managed to get health insurance (Cauchi).

In its turn, the Anti-Injunction Act prevents insurance companies from abuse (Cauchi). Insurance companies do not have the right to refuse to provide an individual with health insurance. There is also a law that prohibits insurance companies to demand higher premiums basing on the health history of a patient.

These and other acts protect the human right to health care. Since health insurance is mandatory in the US, it is important that insurance companies provide people with it under any conditions. Those acts also allow controlling insurance companies and not letting them take advantage of lower classes.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Obamacare and Trumpcare

Trumpcare does not replace Obamacare in all aspects; it complements it with some changes. Hence, Trumpcare possesses many features of Obamacare, which have already proved to be effective. For instance, the new law bans preexisting conditions. It is a sound step since people are forced to buy health insurance only if they are worried about their health.

Trumpcare is better for higher-income Americans since Obamacare was created mostly for poor people. The new law provides equal opportunities for everyone in spite of income. Nevertheless, this benefit can be called a disadvantage at the same time. It depends on the person, who uses it. One of the greatest benefits of Trumpcare is expanding HAS a program that allows people to have untaxed savings for the health insurance (Trumpcare Explained). Most importantly, healthcare should not be an area for profit.

The most debated issue considered the individual mandate. Today, there are about 10% of Americans, who do not have health insurance at all (Johnson). About 450,000 individuals die annually due to the lack of health insurance (Luhby). Trumpcare offers to eliminate this individual mandate. According to CNN, under these circumstances, the number of uninsured is going to increase and reach 52 million people (Trumpcare Explained). It is the main reason why the new law has not been adopted yet. Although many Americans cannot afford quality healthcare, there are many ways to achieve this aim. Therefore, this fact is the biggest disadvantage of Trumpcare and the greatest advantage of Obamacare.

In terms of price transparency, both programs can be considered transparent as they require a detail transcription of all prices. The biggest mistake of Trumpcare is the idea of freezing Medicaid. This program provides many subsidies to those Americans, who are considered poor and who are under the federal poverty line. Therefore, Obamacare gives subsidies to people, who are financially disadvantaged, while Trumpcare offers to give subsidies on the basis of age and not income.

There are certain differences between two programs of funding. Earlier, the federal government used to provide at least $1 per every $1 from the state. Now, according to Trumpcare, the federal government should allocate money once a year, while states should add the required sum on their own (Johnson). It is difficult to say whether the new initiative is worse or better than the existing one. In fact, everything depends on the state since, for some of them, the help from the federal government can be enough, while for others it will cover only a minor percentage of the general sum.

One of the biggest advantages of Trumpcare is that the whole price of the health insurance can be untaxed, while Obamacare offers untaxed expanses on healthcare only in the case it exceeds 10% of the household gross income (Trumpcare Explained). However, this benefit again is more profitable for the wealthy since people that live under the line of poverty can use the opportunity that is offered by Obamacare.

One of the new and progressive features of Trumpcare is the prescription of drugs. There was nothing mentioned about it in Obamacare, while Trumpcare provides Americans with the opportunity to buy prescribed drugs in foreign countries. It can be much cheaper than in the local market, and American companies that sell drugs will have more competitors. Hence, it is very convenient for all citizens.

Nowadays, various insurance companies operate in different states. In such a manner, the insurance company in one state cannot provide a citizen of another state with its health insurance. Trumpcare offers to remove this barrier between states. It allows insurance companies to operate nationwide with the view to provide bigger competition and more opportunities for customers to choose. It is difficult to say whether it is a good initiative or not. Different states have varying needs, thus, demands on insurance companies. Hence, it is difficult to predict how this plan will be implemented and what consequences it will have.

The next disadvantage of Trumpcare is the charge of 30% in the case of the gap in payment of the health insurance during 63 days (Trumpcare Explained). Nevertheless, many individuals do not have an opportunity to pay for health insurance at a certain moment; they need some time in order to get money. In such a manner, this requirement will only lead to a deeper gap between the poor and wealthy in the USA.

One of the features of Trumpcare is that big businesses can acquire a simpler process of ensuring. It is an advantage for corporations, while it is a considerable disadvantage for ordinary employees and owners of small companies. In such a manner, the wealthy will become wealthier, while the poor will get only poorer. On the one hand, among the advantages of this program, there is no penalty for being uninsured. On the other hand, this situation will lead to an increase in the general number of uninsured Americans, as well as spending on healthcare.

It is difficult to say which program has more advantages since they have different targets. For instance, Obamacare gives more subsidies and opportunities for the poor, while Trumpcare offers them not to buy health insurance at all as a way out. Obamacare is worse for big companies, while Trumpcare is more convenient for them. Hence, both programs have advantages and disadvantages.

Consequences of Trumpcare

The main consequence of the implementation of Trumpcare will be a great increase in uninsured Americans. Americans have been forced to find opportunities for getting the health insurance in any way; now, people will be able to spend this money on things that are not as important as the health insurance is. Consequently, the number of deaths will also greatly increase; now, the rate is 450,000 people a year and can reach even 1 million (Luhby).

For sure, Trumpcare will be a relief to owners of big companies. However, the program is often criticized because of income discrimination. Although Trumpcare provides equal opportunities to people of different financial status, those with low income find it difficult to afford health insurance at all.

National Health Care Law: Pros and Cons

There are many ideas on how the health care system can be improved. Since mandatory health insurance is often criticized, the concept of universal healthcare gains popularity. In this case, the healthcare will be free for everyone and will not require any health insurance at all. This type of health care has both advantages and disadvantages.

No doubt, free healthcare is impossible for the USA in the nearest future. Although the medical industry is not the best one, it is as effective as it is now due to the high expenditures of the state. About 18% of the budget is allocated to health expenditures (Johnson). That is the reason as to why the economy of the US cannot provide the free health care on the same quality. Among other disadvantages of universal healthcare is the cheap equipment and medicine. Furthermore, free healthcare leads to the waste of doctors’ time. In the case of free medicine, people may come to doctors without urgent need. In addition, some patient may encourage doctors with bribes.

The biggest advantage of national healthcare is saving lives of people that cannot afford expensive healthcare. As already was mentioned, about 450,000 Americans die every year (Trumpcare Explained). Even such simple illnesses as flu, cold, and coughing can develop into terrible diseases with the lethal result in the case of no proper treatment. Free medicine is saving lives in a quantitative way but not in qualitative one.

Despite many advantages, mandatory health insurance has lots of disadvantages. The main one is the lack of affordability among American citizens. The low class does not have an opportunity to pay the rent, for the food, taxes, and health insurance, as well as education for children. Some of them are forced to have two or three jobs at once in order to be able to pay for the health insurance, while others search new alternatives, for example, robbery.

The main advantage of mandatory healthcare is that under it, every citizen will be protected in the case of an accident. Moreover, the feeling of general safety contributes to the happiness of the society. In addition, the government needs some income in order to cover at least a small percentage of expenditures on healthcare in the USA.

It becomes obvious that the US is not the country that can take advantage of the universal healthcare system at the moment. The main disadvantages include the cheap equipment, drugs, and low quality in general. The only advantage is that people, who cannot afford health insurance, will be treated at hospitals.

Trumpcare versus Obamacare

There are many debates on the issue, which program is better. However, the fact that Trumpcare was not passed by Congress despite the presence of the Republican majority indicates many disadvantages of the program. Hence, according to many congressmen, Obamacare is much better, and no other alternative way exists at the moment.

Definitely, there are things in Trumpcare that are better than Obamacare provides. For instance, Trumpcare offers equal opportunities to everyone. The US is considered a country of opportunities. It is a reason why some people are wealthy, and others are poor. It is not a problem for successful businessmen that someone cannot afford health insurance. That is why, to some extent, Trumpcare is better than Obamacare.

On the other hand, Obamacare is much better since it provides all citizens with health insurance. This program considers all layers of the population. If a person is poor, he or she can ask for help. In turn, Trumpcare does not offer as many subsidies as Obamacare does. Hence, Obamacare is better for the low and middle class.

Trumpcare is worse due to the consequence of significantly increasing the general number of uninsured. First, this situation will lead to a decrease in the revenues into the national budget of the US. Second, the price of health insurance will rise up since it will not be under the strict control of the state. Third, people of the low class that will want to ensure their health safety will be forced to pay more. These reasons do not allow Trumpcare to replace Obamacare due to its revolutionary changes. Probably, the reason is that people cannot imagine another system except Obamacare at the moment. It has become a convenient situation for the majority of citizens. One has to mention that the U.S. ex-President Obama considers Obamacare the best achievement during his presidency.

My Impression

To my mind, Obamacare is a much better health care program than Trumpcare could ever become. The reasons are not my political preferences but my rational mind. The new administration that is headed by Trump wants to implement as many reforms as possible in the very beginning of the office. The reform of healthcare was one of the election pledges from the President, Donald Trump. Consequently, it is very fair that he does his best in order to fulfill all the promises he gave.

Donald Trump has only started his career as a president, and he has four years left for implementing all reforms. Healthcare is a sore subject for many Americans. It is the reason why this program cannot be developed only in few months; it requires a lot of time and work. Probably, in the future, the Republican Party will succeed in reforming the healthcare system; however, it is not ready for this at the moment.

To my mind, the biggest mistake of Trumpcare is the elimination of mandatory healthcare. It is not affordable for most people of the low class, but it is very crucial for them. There is nothing more important than human health is. Obamacare took responsibility and provided everyone with the high-qualified healthcare. Mandatory health care was the only possible way out under current circumstances in the country.

Another reason why I think that Trumpcare is not good enough is that it mainly focuses on the wealthy. Nevertheless, the low class led Donald Trump to the presidency. Therefore, Trumpcare should be a huge disappointment for them. Although Trumpcare cancels fees for not having health care, it does not make people healthier.

To my mind, the Republicans can offer a better version of Obamacare with some minor changes in the future. Nevertheless, Trumpcare is not that revolutionary program since it can only make the situation of health care in the USA worse. Despite many disadvantages, Obamacare remains the best choice for the health industry in the country.

Conclusion

It was discovered that the American healthcare system has political, economic, and social aspects. Both the Democrats and Republicans resorted to promises of reforming healthcare in their election campaigns in pursuit of earning more votes. Providing every citizen with quality healthcare has become an economic burden for the US since it takes about 18% of the state budget. Poor people are often discriminated against in getting such services and do not have an opportunity to buy health insurance at all.

There are many advantages and disadvantages of both Obamacare and Trumpcare. The advantages of Obamacare include mandatory health insurance, extensive subsidies for people with low income (the program called Medicaid), and HAS (the program that gives an opportunity to have untaxed savings for the health insurance or healthcare expenditures). Nevertheless, there are also some disadvantages of Obamacare. There are fees for people that do not buy health insurance even if they do not have an opportunity. Furthermore, people that do not purchase health insurance cannot visit the doctor even with the simplest issues that can develop into a terminal disease.

Trumpcare has more disadvantages than advantages. The main one is that it is focused on wealthy people. The number of uninsured is going to increase; this situation will lead to more expensive healthcare and fewer revenues in the state budget. The advantages include the elimination of barriers for health insurance companies and the possibility of buying prescribed drugs abroad.

Trumpcare is worse than Obamacare in many regards. Despite its advantages, Obamacare is far from the perfect healthcare system. There can be many negative consequences of Trumpcare, as well. The fact that not all Republicans think of Trumpcare as a better opportunity than Obamacare is the best argument against the program. Therefore, the new administration has enough time to make the new healthcare system better; however, Trumpcare is not the one.