Next Gen Journal

By Clint Akarmann

A meeting at the Obama White House (Official White House Photo)

In a primetime press conference at the White House on Wednesday, President Barack Obama described and touted his plan to reform healthcare in America.  He stated that premiums have doubled for families with health insurance, hurting many households that are already facing the woes of an ongoing economic recession.  Obama warned that it is likely that Medicare and Medicaid will “break (the future) federal budget” if the reforms are not passed.  He said that two-thirds of the costs of healthcare reform will be funded by already existing tax dollars, and that the remaining one-third in needed funds would probably come from limits on tax deductions from the wealthiest Americans.  Obama urged coordination between doctors and hospitals and discussed the need for reduction of unnecessary waste and inefficiencies in the American health system.  In short, the President made it clear to Americans that he believed direct action on the issue was needed immediately.

Yet, the consensus on the restructuring of the health care system is far from unanimous.  Republicans and “Blue-Dog” (fiscally conservative) Democrats have balked at spending trillions of dollars changing the system.  They have complained that Americans will receive “socialized medicine” under the new reforms, pointing to the flaws in similar health care systems in Great Britain, Canada, and other countries.  Others are worried that the health care bill will overrule all existing state limits on abortion access and force citizens to finance abortions with their tax dollars.  Many feel that Obama and other Democrats are rushing the trillion-dollar bill through Congress without appropriately studying its large implications for the United States for many years to come.

So here’s the question for you:

What is your stance on the ongoing efforts at comprehensive health care reform?