THE US HEALTH CARE BILL

The US Health Care Bill

The US Health Care Bill

Introduction

President Barack Obama signed into law on March 23 health care reform that narrowly passed the House of Representatives of the United States, two days before. This is the most important social program has been approved by Congress since the days when he gave the green light to Medicare for retirees in 1965.

Why Health Reform in the U.S.?

A great debate began in the U.S. with the opening on March 5, 2009, a public health summit led by President Barack Obama in the White House. The president is committed to implement a massive health care reform with the statement that health system repair the world's most powerful country "is no longer just a moral imperative but a fiscal imperative (Gatta & Capocaccia, 2000)."

In these moments, America is the country that more money per capita spent on health of its people worldwide, a total of two trillion 300 billion dollars ($ 2.3 trillion, in English), a figure equal to 16 percent of gross domestic product of the nation. However, Americans are living longer lives and healthier than people in other nations. In addition, there are 46 million Americans without health insurance (Norregaard & Alonso, 1999).

In this country, the health system rests primarily on the shoulders of private companies, which are those who buy insurance to protect their employees. Is that fair? Is it right? All we know is that it is something inherited from the days of slavery, when the masters were responsible for health, food, accommodation, farm implements and clothing of the slaves. In the modern era for the government and the rest of society, to preserve this tradition has been very comfortable. While it is true that companies are entitled to tax deductions for heavy that burden, and others, nothing indicates that this is the appropriate system. Just been there, that way for about 150 years. We know that America is too fast for some things, and very slow for others (Norregaard, 1998).

Eye protection for workers with the current system is not entirely free. The vast majority must pay a monthly premium taken from your weekly or biweekly payments, make certain payments to general practitioners and visiting specialists, and cover a cumulative annual deductible or pay a percentage of total expenditures each year. Someone I know, with very good health insurance, was the experience that a daughter had to undergo orthopedic surgery that cost $ 136 000. The insurance covered 90 percent of the operation, and secured 10 percent. What happens is that 10 percent of 13 000 136 000 is $ 600. Some insurers still cover only 80 percent of expenditures, and insured 20. Still, insurance companies constantly raise premiums or deny protection to customers who present the highly controversial pre-existing health conditions, ie dangerous diseases that are costly treatments (Ho, 2000).

Insurers also defend themselves with real arguments. To cover their customers, they have to face huge costs of medical consultations, examinations, hospitalizations and treatments, and ...