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Health Reform Moving Forward

In: Business and Management

Submitted By home1509
Words 858
Pages 4
Health Reform Moving Forward
10/7/2012
David M Severance |

How do you reform something that is so messed up that one wonders how it is possible? Currently on the table is the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as Obamacare (Cannon and Tanner). As someone that is currently uninsured and low income, I would likely benefit greatly from this plan. On the surface it seems like a good idea; however where do we live? When did the United States Constitution give the United States government so much power that they could mandate we participate in a program? Even Income Tax is technically voluntary.
PPACA (Obamacare) is the most extensive overhaul of the American health care system since the passage of Medicare in 1965; more so than Medicare part D that came to pass under George W. Bush; which was the largest expansion to Medicare since inception. If reform is what is truly desired, why not look at the effect of what the free market can do if allowed to do what it is designed to do. A few years ago, Target Stores decided to start a program in Florida charging $4 for a 30 day supply of most generic prescription drugs. How long after that did Wal-Mart take the program national? Less than 3 months. There was no way that the world’s largest retailer was going to let Target create a market strategy like that unchecked. Today, just about every major retail city has the same program in several different stores. In Colorado you find it at Target, Wal-Mart, King Soopers ( Kroger owned), Albersons and now even Walgreens is doing something similar. If this can happen with prescription drugs why can’t it happen with basic healthcare without the government doing it for us? Largely, because the US Government doesn’t want the competition; as an example, enacted during the George W Bush presidency was the Health Saving Account (HSA) program. The

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