by Steven Rosenfeld and posted on the AlterNet on March 22, 2012
On Monday, March 26, when the U.S. Supreme Court begins three days of hearings on the centerpiece of President Obama’s new federal healthcare law, the requirement that all U.S. citizens and residents have health insurance, it is not just the fate of a historic reform affecting one-sixth of the nation’s economy and everyone’s access to care that will be at stake, but the role and scope of government for years to come.
On Monday, March 26, when the U.S. Supreme Court begins three days of hearings on the centerpiece of President Obama’s new federal healthcare law, the requirement that all U.S. citizens and residents have health insurance, it is not just the fate of a historic reform affecting one-sixth of the nation’s economy and everyone’s access to care that will be at stake, but the role and scope of government for years to come.
The Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare, is a vast effort to redistribute how Americans receive and pay for healthcare. It starts by ending barriers that have kept tens of millions of Americans uninsured by forcing private insurance companies, businesses, states and individuals to play a more communitarian role in improving access to care and controlling costs. Opponents—Republican political leaders, "free market" and religious conservatives and business lobbyists—see the law as a terrible example of government overreach, increased spending and liberal policy, even if it would cover an additional 32 million Americans by 2019, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates. (Universal coverage is not on the table.) READ MORE
No comments:
Post a Comment