Obama Urges a Call For Health Care Reform and an End to "Bickering"

If you've been following the news even slightly, you have probably already heard about Obama's plan for health care reform and the debate behind it as well as the public opinion of this proposed health care reform.Obama said in his speech Wednesday night, "We have talked this issue to death... The time for talk is winding down. The time for bickering is past."Republican leaders would then say that the President had missed an important opportunity to build a bipartisan consensus on that speech and also missed an opportunity to provide the specifics of this plan of his that has been long awaited.For this speech, President Obama was also joined by representatives from the American Nurses Association (ANA) who have strongly supported this bill since the get-go. During the speech that many remember clearly, Obama discussed several reform principles that were outlined such as the need for all Americans to have access to health coverage, even if they have pre-existing conditions.This could mean big news to anyone who's ever been turned down for insurance because they had already been diagnosed with something. The idea of the plan is to provide quality health insurance to everyone. It's designed to fill in where employer health plans aren't covering or help with people who have no current health insurance for whatever reason.Many people are still skeptical about the President's proposed health care reform and the states seem to be divided as well between those who agree with it and those who do not support it.Some say that Obama's references towards those who oppose him are adding fuel to the fire. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Arizona says that Obama makes it more difficult to find an agreement because he calls people who oppose him "unyielding ideological" believers and claims their arguments are "bogus claims".Many believe, like Kyl, that the President doesn't believe anyone can have a disagreement with him based on a difference of opinion and that it always has to be about ulterior motives or bogus beliefs.One of the biggest reasons people fault the President's plan for health care reform is that there is confusion and debate about what the bill actually entails. Many feel that Obama is not being forthright with his claims such as the one that people who do not agree with the plan will have the option to keep their current coverage if they like it.Another argument is that the current plan will offer health care benefits to illegal citizens. When the President said in his speech that this was untrue, he was called a "liar". It's apparent that the whole idea of this bill and how health care reform will potentially work has people upset.People believe that the President's recent speech only did more to disrupt the possibility of an agreement between the two sides. Senate Minority While Jon Kyl was quoted as saying, "I thought the speech was partisan, uninformative, disingenuous and not likely to encourage those who have honest disagreements with him to be able to work toward some kind of common solution."People who oppose the bill or still stand on the fence regarding whether or not they want to agree with it don't feel their questions and concerns are being met with proper answers. This could be a reason why this particular bill has not come to a solid conclusion.What is Health Care Reform All About?The issue of a national health insurance plan that would allow health insurance for everyone has been around for some time now. However, the debate has raged for so long that many felt nothing would ever be done about it. It seems Obama wants to be the President to change all of this and is plan has been the closest to ever come to almost being passed.He has a lot of support in Congress about his plan but there are still leaders who are unsure and the American public is also unsure of what type of stand they want to take in this case. Most opponents argue that the savings, while real, will probably have a limited impact on the national deficit.The national health insurance plan, being called Health Care for America has a goal of providing affordable health insurance to all non-elderly Americans with a combination of Medicare-like programs that are provided by the government as well as any existing health plans provided by employers.Under this plan, every legal resident of the United States who is not covered by Medicare or an employer-plan for health care can purchase coverage from Health Care for America. The federal government will then be able to bargain for lower pricing and upgraded care to give every current enrollee better healthcare.This will also give people who enroll in the plan affordable coverage and better care. People can sign up who were denied insurance before because of a pre-existing condition. The idea is to give health care to everyone in America.To help pay for the plan, US employers will be required to provide a similar plan or to pay a tax to support the Health Care for America plan and to help their employees afford their own outside coverage.So How Does it Work?People who are self-employed would be able to purchase coverage under Health Care for America by paying just the same payroll-based tax as people who are employed by a company. You can buy into the program based on your annual income. There are also incentives to states who enroll remaining uninsured people in the program.Non eldery people as well as children in the State Children's Health Insurance program are automatically enrolled, either individually or because of their employers. People feel that the program will help by making universal healthcare available to any legal U.S. resident without proper workplace coverage.It will also require that employers and self-employed purchase comparable insurance or pay 6% of the payroll to fund Health Care for America. It will be required that Americans without insurance purchase private coverage of some type or buy into the Health Care for America Plan.Some people don't like the idea of forced health insurance, however. A plus side, however, is that it will help prevent the threat of losing health coverage due to layoffs. The plan will provide comprehensive coverage that includes mental health and maternal as well as child health. Drug coverage is also provided and Medicare is modified so that it can provide for the elderly and disabled. Well child visits and preventative care is also provided at no cost to the individual.One question that people have is about how much it will cost to have this coverage. Already many Americans face the problem of too expensive coverage or coverage that they simply can't afford at all. As proposed, the plan would be a maximum of $70 per month for individuals, $140 for a couple and $130 for single parent families. All other families would be $200 monthly maximum.Coverage from Health Care for America would be guaranteed and continuous once enrolled. Families with this coverage would remain covered until they become covered by a qualified private health insurance plan of equal or greater value.It's easy then to see how many people are supportive of the program and many more still are skeptical that it's "too good to be true" or that there are holes in the plan. Some feel that only time will tell if this plan will work or not. The problem for many skeptics is that if the plan is enacted and it doesn't work the way everyone is expecting, it will already be in effect and nothing can be done about it.Others don't like the idea of a forced health care plan and still others don't think the President is being truthful in what he says the health care reform program will be like. Whichever side of the fence you're on, the time for decision making is here. Just as Obama urges people to make a decision, it's time to soon find out what will happen with health care reform and the proposed plan.