YOU DID IT, OBAMA

There is a very old popular song which goes something like this---
"... he did it, he did it,
he said he would do it..."
President Obama has said in his campaign that he would reform the American Health Care. Ever since he took office he worked hard and diligently with a great deal of perseverance to get the reforms through. After a great deal of struggle and some compromise, the reforms bill was finally passed by the Congress on Sunday, the 21st March'2010 by a vote of 219-212 after a marathon debate.
Let us go the very beginning. As an occasional visitor to this country, i have always wondered why the Health care in America is so scary!! People are scared of loosing their insurance when they loose their Jobs and they are scared of the cost of buying insurance for self and family when out of job. We all know that the NRIs (Non Resident Indians) are scared of their old folk falling sick or ill while visiting USA. People like us who visit here come heavily insured, but still scared of falling sick because you keep hearing cases of claims being tuned down because everything is 'pre-existing'. Perhaps you will not find another country where a newly born, though insured through parents, was denied insurance claim for a complication because the company said it is 'pre-existing'. Do you hear of a lot of people going bankrupt because they can not pay the medical bills, elsewhere? Why do NRIs go and get surgeries/ other treatments done in India? Why does every NRI visit a dentist while on a holiday in India and gets a clean up done there?
The answer is only one.
Health Care in America has become too expensive and the system has literally broken down. Here the doctors do not decide what treatment you receive and where? Here the Insurance companies decide that.
Here are some interesting facts and figures supplied by White House during the past one month through emails to mobilize support for heath care reforms.
1) One in every six dollars in the US economy is spent on health care today.
2) From the year 2000 to 2008, the number of middle-income earners who obtained health insurance from their employers decreased by 3 million.
3) Health care premiums are raising three times faster than the wages.
4) Average monthly premium for employer sponsored family coverage in 2009 is $1,115.
5) Every minute 8 people are denied coverage or charged a higher rate or otherwise discriminated because of a pre-existing condition.
6) 41% of people under 65 have either accumulated medical debt or difficulty in paying medical bills or both.
7) In the year 2009, every hour 625 people lost their health insurance.
8) If you are an American under 65 years of age,there is a 50-50 chance that you would find yourself without coverage at some point during the next decade.
It is against this backdrop that one must try and understand why Obama has literally made it a personal agenda to get the health reforms through. He had fought a long and hard battle over the past one year.
Why has there been such an opposition to his proposed reforms then?? This is what is perplexing and i have tried hard to understand this. I will give my own perspective which may not be totally right.
1)FREE ENTERPRISE:
We all know that America strongly believes and advocates that Free Enterprise is the best way of ensuring economic justice. Ingrained into this tenet is also certain social responsibility. Over the last decade or so GREED has become predominant in the corporate world of free enterprise. Make more and more Money, people be damned has become the practice. This is what has led America to the edge in 2008 - the bursting of housing bubble-- the sub-prime crisis. The insurance companies in America are very strong and have a very powerful lobby. They have carved up the business territories among themselves and indulge in monopolistic practices. They jack up premiums at will, deny claims at will, deny insurance to people at will. They decide where you go for treatment and what treatment they will allow you-- take it or leave it. If you have lost your job and go to them to buy insurance they jack up the premium.
This lobby has spent millions of dollars in creating campaigns that have succeeded in spreading fear among tax payers. The lobby also influenced the various interest groups and politicians.
2) POLITICAL :
The Republican party has not got over the thrashing it got from Obama in 2008. It has only a single point agenda. Oppose Obama and make life miserable for him. Many Republicans believe that Obama is trying to bring in some type of socialism when he advocates change. The Republicans are traditionally pro-rich and the Democrats pro-labor. The Republicans see the extension of health care to millions of uninsured as a socialistic initiative . They have succeeded in convincing the rich and upper middle-class that Obama's reforms would bring down the Quality, increase the Cost and will mean additional taxes. They also argue that the high cost of these reforms can be ill afforded in these hard times.
Alas, there are conservative Democrats but no liberal Republicans ( as the 219-212 vote shows)
3) SOCIAL:
The proposed reforms are seen as pro-poor and anti-rich by the many. In this land of Free Enterprise, people are vertically divided on this issue. Those who have insurance and can afford it's cost do not want anything more to be given freely to the others , as this would increase the cost to them. Also, with more people insured ( adding 32 million people), they expect the quality of health care they are enjoying will be adversly affected.
Another issue that was hotly debated was about Abortions. America is divided into pro and anti abortion groups (mostly influenced by their religious beliefs and faith). The anti-abortion group has opposed the bill saying that they are against what they call state funded abortions. They ask why the tax payer should fund the abortion of someone. They were quite vocal in their opposition calling reform supporters 'baby killers'.
4) ECONOMICS:
The main fear of those opposing the proposed reforms is economics. They are certain that instead of bringing down the costs government intervention will only increase the costs. When government enters the field as a health care player competing with the private sector, some of those in the private sector will disappear. This will push the cost to those already enjoying good insurance coverage. They also fear that the funding will ultimately have to come through additional taxes.
On the other hand, Obama says that by his reforms he is going to bring down the costs by putting checks and balances in place and cutting down the monopolistic pricing practices and ensuring that insurance is provided need based. By bringing in additional 32 millions into the health care coverage, a lot of new jobs will be created in Health care industry-- more doctors , nurses, other staff. Obama is also very keen that all medical records should be computerized and that will create lot more jobs too.
America is world's greatest democracy-- where all people are equal irrespective of colour, caste or creed. And all have Freedom that is guaranteed by it's constitution. The human life is valued here very high. In technology and innovation, in research and development, they are Numero Uno. They have the best technology available in medical field.
Is it not ironic that this great country should creak under a Health care system that can not take care of it's people?
Is it not ironic that Obama's efforts to change and set this right, even partially, are met with such resistance?
After the bill was passed , when asked to comment , Obama has said " This is what Change looks like." He has just won a battle. There are many more ahead. I already hear that some states are going to court against the bill. We will see a lot more turmoil, a lot more emotions.
Inaction is not an option and President Obama has acted on a vital issue.
Change is always painful initially but change is always for better.
I salute OBAMA for his courage, conviction and perseverance.