Lobbying of the Government by Term Paper

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Karen Ignagni, AHIP's president asserts that 77% of all Americans are satisfied with their health insurance coverage. However, the same June survey by the New York Times and CBS News cited by Ignagni also found that 72% of all Americans support the creation of a universal public option of insurance coverage. The public option is opposed by AHIP. Significantly, those who described their health as "excellent -- people who presumably had relatively little experience pursuing medical care or submitting claims -- were almost twice as likely as those in good, fair or poor health to rate their private health insurance as excellent" (Hilzenrath 2009, p1.).

By cleverly spinning such poll results, AHIP has been able to frighten even some moderate and conservative Democrats about their ability to be reelected. Republicans have tried to play a populist 'card' by crowing that their opposition to the Obama Administration's proposed reforms is the people's will. This has become a self-fulfilling prophesy. The public, told that they do not support healthcare reform, has begun to perceive the current bill as a product of meddlesome government.

Socioeconomic biases of the healthcare debate

For some individuals with very good healthcare, the American healthcare system may appear to be functional. These individuals fear that they will be the 'losers' if there is more government regulation of healthcare. "Insurers argue that a government plan could dominate the market, reducing consumers' options. But in the private market, options are limited by employers who restrict employees' choice of insurers and by insurers who restrict their choice of doctors," in all but the most comprehensive and generous of health plans (Hilzenrath 2009, p.2). Under the current situation, individuals with the best employer-provided health coverage have the best care, and care is rationed not according to need, but according to the place of one's employment.

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Employees of wealthier corporations thus benefit the most, along with insurance companies. And unlike government policies, which are subject to debate, the actions of the healthcare industry can be capricious. Recently, "Cigna, one of the nation's largest insurers, took away its own employees' alternatives in 2006 and left them with only high-deductible coverage," often so high that employees forgo care (Hilzenrath 2009, p.2)

Ethical Dilemmas

The dirty little secret about healthcare is that rationing is inevitable, no matter what system is adopted. Individuals with excellent coverage may get unnecessary tests; others have no coverage at all. "Economists generally agree that if costs are to be brought under control, someone must say no to care that doctors propose and patients demand. So far, that role has fallen primarily to insurers. Private insurers have effectively engaged in rationing, so they're doing the dirty work" rather than government (Hilzenrath 2009,p.1) America remains unique amongst all of the industrialized democracies in that it allows healthcare to be a commodity (Andre & Velasquez 2010). For insurers, this has been a profitable bargain. It has been a deadly bargain for Americans who are too wealthy or young to qualify for government programs, yet who cannot obtain healthcare from their employers......

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