“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. (The Declaration of Independence) Written 236 years ago, our founding fathers understood inequality while suffering under a suppressive British rule. They envisioned a nation where all men are granted the same liberties and rights as the next man. A grand notion indeed, and perhaps someday the United States of America will truly be a nation of equality. We have made great progress through the years, by abolishing slavery, allowing women to vote and gay rights, but unfortunately inequalities still exist today. One of the biggest of those inequalities is inadequate healthcare and health insurance.
The Declaration of Independence, says all men have an unalienable right to Life, not just the rich who can afford the best health care and insurance. It has been argued, that the poor are covered by Medicaid and Medicare, so nothing else needs to be done, but what these people making this argument fail to realize, is that millions of people are well below the poverty line, but still do not qualify for these programs. The current income limits for Georgia Medicaid for low-income families, is as follows: (Georgia Department of Public Health)
Family Size/Income Limit
1/ $235 per month ($2,820 per year)
2/ $356 per month ($4,272 per year)
3/ $424 per month ($5,088 per year)
4/ $500 per month ($6,000 per year)
To qualify for Medicaid in Georgia, a family of three cannot make more than $424 a month. According to the federal government, if a family of three makes under $1591.00 a month, they are living in poverty. (Federal Poverty Level) So, what about those families with an income of say $700.00 per month, which could hardly cover a place to live and utilities? Well, they are expected to somehow get insurance or pay out of pocket for healthcare. What happens most often though, is healthcare is forgone or overlooked so that other necessities can be paid, and in the most severe health, an individual may go to the emergency room leaving behind an unpaid bill. Not your problem, you say? Directly or indirectly everyone in the U.S. is affected by this problem, whether it be from lost work hours from someone too sick to work, but too poor to go to the doctor, or from millions in unpaid hospital bills, which the doctors and hospitals compensate for, by raising their prices, which in turn is passed on to consumers.
Hope and promise is on the horizon as President Obama tackled this problem by signing into law in 2010, The Patient-Protection-Affordable-Care-Act. This law, which will become fully effective in 2014, attempts to assure that all Americans will have adequate and affordable health care. In this new law, the Medicaid eligibility will be increased to 133% of poverty level. (Congress 153) Meaning that same family of three will now be able to have an income of $2,116.00 per month and qualify for healthcare coverage through Medicaid. (Federal Poverty Level) Many Americans finding themselves outside of this income limit may still have difficulty affording insurance for themselves and their families. A subsidized program, based on a sliding scale according to income, has been set up to help those who do not qualify for Medicaid, but are struggling to still afford a monthly health insurance premium. When all parts of this law are fully enacted by 2014, the quality and availability of healthcare in America will be greatly improved.
This is very similar to the health system in place in The Netherlands. In fact, Obama’s law is based in part on that of The Netherlands. It is mandatory for everyone to at least have a base level of health insurance, and the government subsidizes for those with lower incomes. This system has been in place since 2006 and is working very well. Health spending per capita in The Netherlands is $3,481 versus $6,719 here in the U.S. While 80% of the health costs are covered by The Netherlands’ government, only 45.8% of costs are covered by the U.S. government. They spend 9.4% GDP on healthcare while we are at 15.3%. The meaning of this is that they have a better health care system already in place that is evident by the overall health of their citizens. Only 4 out of every 1000 babies die in The Netherlands compared to 7 out of 1000 U.S. babies. Their average life expectancy is 80, while here in the U.S., the life expectancy is 78. (Miller) They spend less on average for health care, their babies have a higher survival rate and they live longer. Maybe it is time that we in the U.S. realize that we are behind in a race that we really can’t afford to lose.
Those standing up for these rights for better healthcare in America will face a fight this November as President Obama and a Republican candidate face off for the office of the Presidency. The Republicans have vowed if they are elected, to repeal this Act and cancel what they call “Obama Care”. These Republican candidates that are running for office are extremely rich and have no problem paying for a doctor’s visit. They will never know what it is like to choose between your diabetes medicine or diapers for your baby. They will never understand the despair of seeing hospital bills pile up because you cannot afford to pay them. President Obama has paved the way for equality to finally come to America’s healthcare and we the people of the U.S. need to make sure this Healthcare Act is not repealed.
The Patient-Protection-Affordable-Care-Act is welcoming news to a country facing the highest rate of poverty it has seen in decades, which stands at 43.6 million according to the 2010 Census. In the past, those living in poverty experience a lower quality of life from the cradle to the grave. With healthcare made available and affordable to all, the inequalities of the past will be gone and we can look forward to a healthier and better America.
Congress, President Obama and the 111th. “The Patient-Protection-Affordable-Care-Act.” 2010. Federal Poverty Level. 2012. . Georgia Department of Public Health. 2012. . Miller, Talea. Online news Hour/PBS. Oct 6, 2009. . “The Declaration of Independence.” 1776.