The
first Presidential debate took place on October 3rd at the University
of Denver in Denver, CO. One of the main issues discussed was the issue
of healthcare reform. Although a great amount of time was devoted to
this problem, in my opinion, neither of the candidates was able to shed
light on the concerns of the American people.
The main topic being the project Obamacare, President Obama started his argument with three main points. The first was that the Affordable Care Act does not concern the people who already have insurance and moreover, it regulates its cost. He also mentions that under his new program, people with existing policies will be getting rebates if their insurance company spends more than 20% of its profit on infrastructure and CEO bonuses rather than on customers’ benefits. Second, he emphasized that for people who don’t have coverage, the cost to get it would be 18% less than before. Lastly, he notes that this model worked really well in Massachusetts, referring to his opponent’s notion of rejecting something that he himself supported in his own state. Governor Mitt Romney in response agrees that the major task of the reform is to lower the cost of health care, but not through Obamacare. He addresses statistics and finds that ¾ of small business owners will reduce their hiring potential if they will be obligated to provide insurance, which can potentially lead to a job loss in a private sector. “I like the way we did it in Massachusetts," Romney says, but proposes to leave this decision up to the State government. Nevertheless, Governor does not explain why if it works on a State level, it cannot be exercised on a Federal level.
Governor Romney also addresses the problem of Medicare, precisely the $716 billion dollar cut under Affordable Care Act reform. In his opinion, making Medicare a voucher system will give people a choice of insurance, which will create competition, and that will automatically regulate the cost. In response to that President Obama mentions that the goal of any private insurance is to make a profit, which is why Medicare will always cost less. Obama does not give any comment on the $716 billion cut and tries to avoid this subject. It is also necessary to note that the main reason for cuts is a huge federal deficit. Although Governor Romney actively criticized Obamacare, he does not specify how his program will deal with this deficit. Moreover, Congressional Budget Office reports that repealing the health care law would increase the federal deficit by $109 billion over ten years.
The main topic being the project Obamacare, President Obama started his argument with three main points. The first was that the Affordable Care Act does not concern the people who already have insurance and moreover, it regulates its cost. He also mentions that under his new program, people with existing policies will be getting rebates if their insurance company spends more than 20% of its profit on infrastructure and CEO bonuses rather than on customers’ benefits. Second, he emphasized that for people who don’t have coverage, the cost to get it would be 18% less than before. Lastly, he notes that this model worked really well in Massachusetts, referring to his opponent’s notion of rejecting something that he himself supported in his own state. Governor Mitt Romney in response agrees that the major task of the reform is to lower the cost of health care, but not through Obamacare. He addresses statistics and finds that ¾ of small business owners will reduce their hiring potential if they will be obligated to provide insurance, which can potentially lead to a job loss in a private sector. “I like the way we did it in Massachusetts," Romney says, but proposes to leave this decision up to the State government. Nevertheless, Governor does not explain why if it works on a State level, it cannot be exercised on a Federal level.
Governor Romney also addresses the problem of Medicare, precisely the $716 billion dollar cut under Affordable Care Act reform. In his opinion, making Medicare a voucher system will give people a choice of insurance, which will create competition, and that will automatically regulate the cost. In response to that President Obama mentions that the goal of any private insurance is to make a profit, which is why Medicare will always cost less. Obama does not give any comment on the $716 billion cut and tries to avoid this subject. It is also necessary to note that the main reason for cuts is a huge federal deficit. Although Governor Romney actively criticized Obamacare, he does not specify how his program will deal with this deficit. Moreover, Congressional Budget Office reports that repealing the health care law would increase the federal deficit by $109 billion over ten years.
