Lubbock Panel weighs in on Obamacare

Thursday night the Covenant School of Nursing hosted an Obamacare panel to answer many questions that many still have about this controversial law.  The sole purpose of this event was to give the general public in depth information about the effects, give medical and governmental views of the program, and local predictions on what to expect when this law is fully implemented.

The panel consisted of four members who included: State Representative Charles Perry; Democratic Party Chairman Kenny Ketner; Clarke E. Cochran, Ph.D; and Patricia Freier MSN, RN-BC, RCIS.  Each of the members was intended to bring a wide range of perspectives on the law while offering their expertise to dissect the different components of the law.  

During the debate, the panel was focused to address 4 main questions concerning the law.

1.      How will the public be affected by the new legislation in both personal and financial aspects? Will prices of healthcare actually increase or decrease overall for the average Joe?

2.      What new regulations and protocol will the hospital (Covenant) have to implement to be in compliance with the new legislation, how will this affect the public, and when will they begin to see the changes?

3.      In your own words, how will this legislation affect the work of Doctors/PA/NP/Nurses who serve the public?

4.      What is one part of the new legislation that you believe that everybody needs to know?

Because the Covenant School of Nursing was hosting the panel, a majority of the issues covered were the behind the scenes effects of the new law and how it would change the functions of healthcare providers. Medical jargon aside, many of the changes were said to be more noticeable on the care-giver side rather than the patient side.

Among other things brought up during the Q&A that followed the debate, the cost of Obamacare was the most concerning issue the audience asked about. Coincidently, this was the one thing the panel could agree on; Obamacare does not do enough to control costs. This is a question I personally brought to the panel because it is obvious that, aside from the individual mandate, costs were the biggest concern among the audience.

"We have the best healthcare in the world...if you can afford it" were the words from Democratic Party Chairman Kenny Ketner.

These words, surprisingly enough, are very true. And coming from the Democratic Party Chairman is a bit of a shock to me. It’s almost unheard of to hear anybody from the Democratic Party say anything less than praise about the new law. It’s generally known that supporters of Obama and the Democratic Party are also die-hard supporters of Obamacare. While shocking to hear, it is comforting to know that even the supporters of the law do see the problems it poses and address its shortcomings.

Dr. Cochran gave a noticeable opinion on the law saying he gave Obamacare 2 cheers rather than 3 because of this failure to control the costs of healthcare. He also said that neither the proposals by the Republicans or Democrats would control costs.

“Is the American Healthcare system affordable? No.” Cochran said in response to my question.

Dr. Cochran gave these reasons as to why the cost of healthcare was so high:

·         Prices, such as salaries to doctors, nurses, etc., being much higher than the rest of the world.

·         Administrative costs of running hospitals and healthcare programs.

·         Technological Innovation driving up healthcare costs, getting us less and less health for the dollars we spend in research and development. But nobody wants to reduce R&D or be slow to adopt the newest drug and/or procedure.

One interesting point brought up that the rest of the panel seemed to leave out of the discussion was made by Patricia Freier as she made her response to my question. While the other panelists focused on the failure of Obamacare to control the rising costs of healthcare, Freier looked at the source of the rising costs and a solution to it.

“We really have not talked about personal responsibility” Freier said in her response. “It’s all about costs we’ve been talking about here tonight.”

She used heart-attacks as an example to explain the rising costs of healthcare, a subject she specializes in.

“We know what causes a heart-attack; we know how to prevent it. All heart-attacks are preventable. But, you have to do your part and participate in that regiment. We have to have those people who can do those expensive procedures…and that’s driving up the costs of healthcare. It is actually not that expensive to go do this method, find out what your root causes are and treat them, and never have a heart-attack. But we don’t really talk about that, we don’t take that personal responsibility and that point needs to be made.”

A very interesting point brought up by someone who seemed to be a supporter of the new law.

Obamacare was designed with the best intentions in mind, but I do agree that the cost of healthcare is the real problem with the healthcare system in America and is also the biggest issue that Obamacare fails to address. 

Nevertheless, it was great to have this panel come out and address one of the biggest problems many have of the new law; just not knowing what it is and how it works.  

GOP's war on Obamacare

All other national issues facing the country have been the topic for debate on and off throughout the years, but one major issue still holds the title of the GOP’s Most Wanted. Ever since its creation and presentation in 2008, the Republican Party has waged war on Obamacare; vowing to repeal and rid the country of it as soon as they could. However, their tactics on attacking Obamacare have not been completely effective, and not a lot has changed since the early days of the war.

Of all the major national issues controlling the 2012 presidential election, health care seemed to be the signature issue. For President Barack Obama, Obamacare is the defining accomplishment of his 2008-2012 presidency.  So for Mitt Romney and the GOP, of course, this was one of the key points used in his 2012 campaign.  As part of the republican platform, repealing Obamacare is one of the more focused goals of the Republican Party.  

Ever since it was signed into law in March 2010, Obamacare has been seen as a controversial law by many Americans. With pressure from the Republican Party and other non-supporters, it was a shock to see the constitutionality upheld by the Supreme Court in June 2012.  

But what is all the controversy over?  In a Gallup poll taken in June 2012, 52 percent of Americans said they would repeal part, if not all, of the law. Similarly, in a 2012 Reuters/Ipsos poll, 56 percent of people surveyed were against the new Obamacare plan. Of course Romney’s campaigning and GOP propaganda has done its best to demonize this new health care plan and paint it out as exactly what America doesn’t need. There are many aspects to the new health care plan that don’t make much sense at all or seem necessary. Open any pamphlet or watch any ad on Obamacare and you’ll hear about how much it burdens businesses to provide health care coverage to their employees or how it drains $716 billion out of Medicare to fund itself. But, the real problem people and the Republican Party have with the new health care plan is the mandate. Nobody likes to be told what to do, much less buy something they may not be able to afford. Fail to comply with this mandate and one faces the penalty of an annual fee, which gets thrown up to the IRS, and nobody likes the IRS. With already low approval ratings for the IRS amid the whole scandal, I don’t see this plan gaining much more favor.  

When the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare, it was upheld not as a regulation of commerce, but as a tax. Another tax Obama promised he would not burden on the middle class. Of all the points the GOP has been attacking Obamacare on, I feel they haven’t pushed this fact as much as they should. The only thing Americans pull out of this new plan is universal health care, and of course that is a great idea many people would agree on. The problem then lies on the failure for Americans to fully understand, or have some understanding, of what Obamacare consists of and how it affects us, the medical community and our economy.  If Romney and the GOP would have hit harder on the fact that the new plan is a tax burden, I feel people would have a better understanding of why Republicans are so against this new health care plan.  
As mentioned earlier, this is probably the highlight to be recognized in Obama’s presidency, which is very surprising that this was all he managed to do during his first term, a term where his party controlled Congress yet still managed to claim the title of “The do nothing 112th.” Romney made a good effort in pointing out that in Obama’s first two years in office, during a Democratic Party majority congress, he didn’t get anything major passed or even come up with a balanced budget in more than 1,000 days.  This has got to be a red flag to Obama supporters and many undecided voters.  Like many Americans, I’m disappointed to see that in these past four years in office, Obamacare is all Obama has to show for himself.  

Three years out from the next presidential election, the GOP is still determined to kill Obamacare with promises that the next president will be Republican and will execute these promises. I do not know what issues will be facing America in the next three years, but I don’t doubt Obamacare will still be a dominating issue. As new phases of Obamacare begin to take effect, we may see a lessening focus on its eradication as people accept the new policies. However, if things turn sour in a hurry, as many —including myself — believe, we could find ourselves right back in November 2012 with candidates finely split between pro-Obamacare and anti-Obamacare.