(1)
In order to enact a healthcare reform as a politician one of my main strategies would be to focus on the decline of employment rate due to job losses during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Employment rate and health coverage actually go hand in hand. In many cases when one loses their job they lose their health insurance and benefits that had been provided as well. The pandemic has effected our nation in so many ways, and in my opinion their needs to be reforms set in place for those who had no control over losing their jobs. If you are unemployed in America due to the pandemic and have lost your health insurance that was provided by your employer then I believe there should be a reform set in place that would provide health care coverage while looking for another place of work. I do not believe that one person is more deserving of health care vs. another. I feel that in America we should all be given equal opportunities and benefits, especially when it comes to our health and well being. I do not think anyone should be put in a situation where healthcare is unaffordable and not an option. I think a good start would be setting reforms in place that take care of those who have lost their jobs and insurance due to circumstances they had no control over.
(2)
When investigating why health care is so unreasonably high in the United States as compared to other countries, where health care is provided for all citizenry, it is apparent that health care in the United States must be reformed. Where to begin such a reformation is of much debate. One common thought of Americans is that we can’t afford to pay the taxes necessary to maintain healthcare for “all” in the United States. In looking at what Canada paid for health care in comparison to the United States in the years of 2018 and 2019, Canada spent $37 billion in 2018 while the United States paid $1.2 trillion in 2019 for health care (How much does the federal government spend on health care? | Tax Policy Center (Links to an external site.); https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-much-does-federal-government-spend-health-care#:~:text=The%20federal%20government%20spent%20nearly%20%241.2%20trillion%20on%20health%20care,medical%20care%20about%20%2480%20billion (Links to an external site.)). When looking at such discrepancies in spending, where one government provides health care for all and another government provides support for a few, it is evident that the cost-price analysis of health care in the United States is sorely failing the American people. It is obvious that Americans are being grossly overcharged for health care. As a politician, this is where I would focus my aim at reformation efforts of American healthcare. Health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, and doctors are charging the American public to poverty levels, and this should not be allowed. To give an example from my own life, I had a seizure 18 months ago while home alone that required medical intervention. Obviously, I was unable to drive to the hospital and needed an ambulance to get medical support. The 12-minute ride in the ambulance alone was $600. As a full time college student, there was no way that I could pay this bill, and that ended up negatively impacting my credit. Not only is this killing Americans financially, not to mention killing Americans who can’t afford medical care, it is literally negatively impacting our communities workforces. “Lowering health care prices also could lead to increased tax revenue for states, since rapidly rising health care costs have eaten into workers’ taxable wages (Links to an external site.) over the past 20 years” (https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2022/what-states-can-do-address-commercial-health-care-prices (Links to an external site.)). The problem with healthcare in America is not an insurance problem, but it is rather a regulation problem. Healthcare companies and doctors alike are able to charge ruthless prices for their services with the excuse of their education costs and insurance costs justifying their charges. As a politician enacting healthcare reform, I would place limitations on how much health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, and doctors are able to charge for services.
(3)
As a politician in this age I would go about enacting healthcare reform by supporting women and reforming the maternal morality crisis. As stated in the article US women have the highest rate among high income countries in maternal deaths. Knowing these facts I would highly educate myself on the important factors that play into this and cause such high rates. That being said I would communicate as part of my campaign being I am pro-women, meaning I am in favor of women having the right to choose if they would like to have an abortion. I would also campaign that paid maternity leave is necessary for the future mothers and their mental health and well being. I would work towards funding for programs that provide funds for those who choose to birth our next generation, and provide as much help to those paying out of pocket to just be able to bring a new life into this world.
IN 5-6 LINES, RESPONDING TO THIS THREE DICUSSION BOARD
