November 5, 2008

Examining Obama’s Promises, Challenges

With Senator Barack Obama’s presidential victory on November 4, The Associated Press examines the promises that he has made throughout his campaign—including his plan for health care reform—and the challenges that he will likely face in making them a reality.

According to the article, Obama proposes to increase the taxes of those who earn more than $250,000 a year. The government will use those funds to subsidize health insurance coverage for low- and middle-income families. Employers that do not offer health coverage will be asked to pay a percentage toward a national health plan; small business will be exempt from this payment. Obama also plans to make health insurance for children mandatory.

However, the Tax Policy Center points out that although Obama’s health care plan can decrease the current number of 45 million uninsured Americans down to 27 million, it would still leave many adults without coverage. The AP notes that the plan could cost about $1.6 trillion during the next 10 years and that the penalty on employers who don’t offer health insurance may increase the cost of running a business.

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peregrine, new orleans, 2008-11-06 22:41:49
Politicians will promise anything to get elected. Obama is not even in office yet so all of this is merely conjecture. As far as health insurance goes, this issue has been studied and several countries have some version of public healthcare available. There are many knowledgeable people in this government who can come up with something viable. The question is, can we put our differences aside and work on this issue together to come up with a solution? The Vote is still out on that.