US PARTIES PLATFORMS ON MEDICARE

US PARTIES PLATFORMS ON MEDICARE

Medicare is the national healthcare insurance cover in the US, which was started in 1996 by the Social Security Administration. Political parties such as the democrats and republicans in the US have played a major role in promoting Medicare in the country. As such, the democratic and republican platforms have offered different stipulations in regards to US Medicare.

2016 Republican platform  

The program was undertaken by the Republicans aimed at improving healthcare under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which was spearheaded by Barack Obama.  The platform outlined that ObamaCare was a disaster, and we’re committed to replacing it with a healthcare system that made patients and doctors in charge of their conditions (The 2016 Democratic Platform, 2016). The 2016 Republican platform stipulated on preserving Medicare because over 100 million Americans heavily relied on the program. Thus, the 2016 platform sought to finance the vital program through controls provided by the federal budget. Hence, the republican platform aimed at modernizing Medicare through the empowerment of its participants. Therefore, the Republican platform sought to reduce Medicare long-term debts, which had accrued to trillion through the use of a premium support model. The model was used to promote cost-saving competition and corruption cases, which had affected Medicare heavily. Also, the republican platform sought to guarantee every member of income-adjusted contribution relative to subscription of their choice.

2016 Democratic Party Platform

The democratic articulated the need to provide universal healthcare being a right to every citizen. As such, the democratic party platform ensured that the healthcare systems in the US should not consider profit-making at the expense of its people. The platform acknowledged the efforts by President Barack Obama in the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to provide universal healthcare. The platform noted that ACA was highly significant as it provided coverage to over 20 million people to ensure nobody was denied healthcare coverage due to prevailing conditions (Payer, 2019). Thus, the platform ensured to reduce the costs by increasing the affordability of the premium package. Furthermore, the democratic party platform put to an end the surprise billing relative to the economic strains that were faced by many American families.

Similarities

Both the 2016 republican and democratic parties’ platforms acknowledged the challenges facing the US Medicare program. Thus, the initiatives are undertaken by the parties aimed at providing long-term care to its citizens despite varying proposals (Health care, 2019). For instance, the Republicans vaunted for the expansion of health insurance covers in its states to address current challenges in the healthcare system. Also, the platforms failed to reduce the number of uninsured and underinsured in the US. Thus, the platforms would be required to work on real policies affecting US citizens.

Differences

The 2016 Republican platform sought to end the Medicare program for the elderly by requiring the seniors to enroll for a private health insurance cover. As such, the Republicans aimed at reducing the amount the government was supposed to pay towards the seniors’ Medicare cover. On the other hand, democrats vowed to fight against attempts made by republicans towards privatization and voucherization of the healthcare program (Health care, 2019). Also, the democratic party platform sought to dismantle the Medicare system with a costly scheme that threatened to take away patients’ freedom. However, the 2016 Republican platform spearheaded the development of a cost-awareness program that would prevent US citizens from over-utilization to promote transparency.

References

The 2016 Democratic Platform. (2016). Party Platform – Democrats. Retrieved 17 February 2020, from https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/

Payer, S. (2019). Retrieved 17 February 2020, from https://www.gop.com/democrats-want-to-make-you-wait-longer-and-pay-more-for-health-care-rsr

Health care. (2019). Republican and Democratic platforms on health care – PNHP. Retrieved 17 February 2020, from https://pnhp.org/news/republican-and-democratic-platforms-on-health-care/