Efforts to reform the nation’s troubled health care system have taken a step forward with the introduction of the latest health care bill by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA). The legislation aims to provide health insurance to 36 million Americans - who would otherwise go without by 2019 and provide a government-run “public option” to compete in the private sector. The bill would require citizens to purchase health insurance. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill would cost taxpayers an estimated $1.055 trillion.
Despite its trillion-dollar price tag, the CBO said it would reduce deficits by $104 billion over the next 10 years.
The plan will place 5.4 percent surtax on individuals who earn more than $500,000 a year and on couples who earn more than $1 million. People who earn $250,000 are also eligible to bear the burden and will have to pay a tax increase of 2.5 percent.
“I do not think that it is fair just to ask only the people with the highest income to fund health care for everyone,” said Jordan Rivers, a sophomore civil engineering major.
Rivers argued that if there is a health care mandate for all citizens, the burden must be shared among all citizens, in proportion to their income levels. In Rivers’ view, the current legislation is not fair and the entire population must share the cost of the plan. He said he does not support the bill nor thinks it will pass.
Other provisions under the plan include young adults being allowed to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 27 and drug costs being discounted by 50 percent for people whose prescription medication prices exceed their monthly Medicare allowance. Other provisions of the bill would eliminate co-pays and deductibles for preventative services to Medicare. A temporary insurance program will also be initiated for those who are uninsured or have been denied coverage.
“I think the fact that they want everybody to have a plan is good, but I don’t know how it’s going to work,” said Taneshia Castain, a sophomore human development major.
A supporter of the bill’s goals, Castain is concerned about the possible consequence to those who do not or cannot purchase health insurance. She said she hopes relatively low prices will be offered in the “public option,” but still believes that coverage will still be out of reach for some. “I like what they’re doing; I like what they’re trying to get to, but I don’t know if mandating that everybody have it at a certain price is the right way to go about it,” Castain said.
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