Reed About Politics: Trumpcare

Reed About Politics: Trumpcare

Reed Cleland

Healthcare reform is one of the most pressing issues in American politics. Whether Democrat, Republican, or independent, people want the best possible care at the lowest possible cost.

As it would seem, providing people with quality care at low prices is very difficult. This is why the debate over healthcare reform is so complex. Our government leaders have the responsibility of providing millions of people with decent, low-cost care. The debate over healthcare reform is long and complicated, but it is important. Our lives literally depend on it.

There are two philosophies of healthcare reform in the United States. Republican politicians favor an open-market system. They believe that if private insurance companies receive lower taxes and less regulation, they will compete with each other. This would result in lower prices for consumers. Democrats support more government involvement. If it means that more Americans are covered, they do not see government regulation as a bad thing.  

Although many of us at Homer High School (including myself) do not remember the 2008 presidential election, Democratic candidate Barack Obama promised to reform the American healthcare system. He believed that government needed to uphold the national welfare by playing a larger role in healthcare.

In 2010, Obama passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare. The bill was designed to increase quality, affordability, and the number of Americans who received health insurance. Before Obamacare, insurance companies were able to deny coverage, revoke coverage, and force clients with pre-existing conditions to pay extra money. Obamacare is meant to prevent all of this and more.

After it was passed, Obamacare faced many challenges from Congress, courts, state governments, and other organizations. The most controversial part of the law was its individual mandate section, requiring most Americans to have a minimum amount of health coverage. Conservatives gave the bill a good fight, even creating a government shutdown in 2013. Ultimately, the individual mandate section was declared constitutional by the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, Republican politicians continue to challenge Obamacare. When Donald Trump took office in January, the nation thought for sure that Republican leaders, after so long, would finally end the Affordable Care Act.

Their attempt backfired.  

The American Health Care Act of 2017 was drawn up by Trump and other Republican politicians. Nicknamed Trumpcare, it was supposed to replace Obamacare by repealing several pieces of it, including the individual mandate section.

A vote on Trumpcare in the House of Representatives was scheduled for March 23rd. Republican leaders, however, could not find enough support, and the vote was delayed until March 24th. On the night of March 23rd, Trump released a video stating that the bill would be Republicans’ only chance to repeal Obamacare. Republicans broke ranks; there were several who voted against their own bill. They believed that Trumpcare did not go far enough in repealing Obamacare.

For Trump, the bill’s defeat was an undeniable setback. In 2016, he campaigned on being a dealmaker who could shake up government corruption. Republican leaders believed that it would be relatively easy to send the Trumpcare bill through Congress. For many Americans, the bill’s defeat casts a shadow over the rest of Trump’s presidency. They are asking themselves how many more setbacks might be in store. Republicans in Congress opposed Obamacare for seven years. They created a government shutdown, led protests, and have endlessly sought its repeal. In the public eye, their failure on March 24th will hurt the reputation of the new Republican administration.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a key figure in attempting to pass Trumpcare, stated that Obamacare will remain law for the foreseeable future. Although he and the President have expressed their desires to move on to other issues, their defeat in Congress came at a poor time. Trump hoped to begin his presidency with repealing Obamacare, and he failed. Democrats and Republicans both agree that it is going to be an uphill battle for him to regain credibility.             

Works Cited

Antos, Joseph; Wilensky, Gail; Kuttner, Hanns. “The Obama Plan: More Regulation, Unsustainable
Spending.” Health Affairs. September 16, 2008. Web.

Collinson, Stephen; Diamond, Jeremy. “How Trump’s health care loss will shape his

presidency.” CNN Politics. March 27, 2017. Web.

Pear, Robert. “Brawling Over Health Care Moves to Rules on Exchanges.” New York Times. July 7,
2012. Web.