OWL NEWS

Eva Herscowitz:​ The Herscowitz campaign writes on its website that:

Universal healthcare will…

• Reduce costs as people will no longer have to go to the emergency room for health care

• Bolster the economy by increasing the number of medical professionals

• Reduce costs through early diagnoses

• Improve patient-doctor relationships

• Reduce medication costs as only one provider will negotiate the prices

Many of the statements made here are correct, or mostly true, although there are a few that raise concerns. While the claim of reducing costs through early diagnoses is absolutely true, universal healthcare reducing costs is very vague and half true. Universal healthcare makes insurance companies “ spend at least 80 percent of insurance premiums on medical care and improvements” (Pros). At the same time, universal healthcare “has caused premiums to rise for a lot of people who already had health insurance” (Pros). In fact, “Premiums are skyrocketing for a second year in a row. Rates rose 24% this year in the states using healthcare.gov” (Luhby). Thus, universal healthcare has both reduced costs for people while also making premiums go up incredibly high, actually increasing costs. The claims that universal healthcare will increase the number of medical professionals and reduce medication costs is true, but the claim that universal healthcare improves patient-doctor relationships is mostly false. One doctor from Atlanta, Georgia, Brian Hill, mentions that doctors are “losing the focus of who [they’re] supposed to be taking care of: the patient. [The patient is] not [the doctor’s] customer anymore. Now, [the doctor] got to respond to the federal bureaucracy, not [the patient]’” (LaMotte). This reveals that universal healthcare is disturbing the patient-doctor relationship rather than improving it.

The Herscowitz campaign has stated that if taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and gambling are increased, “not only will this reduce destructive behavior, but this revenue will contribute to universal healthcare.” This claim is true, as “Tobacco taxation… has been recognized as one of the most effective population-based strategies for decreasing smoking and its adverse health consequences” (Bader). Also, for taxes placed on alcohol, “studies examining the effects of increases of monetary prices (e.g., through raising taxes) on alcohol consumption… have demonstrated that price increases for alcoholic beverages lead to reduced alcohol consumption, both in the general population and in certain high-risk populations, such as heavier drinkers or adolescents and young adults” (Xu and Chaloupka).

 

Azraf Khan: Khan has stated on his website, for his healthcare platform, that “health care providers will prosper in a competitive, rigorous environment. Furthermore, private health care will provide citizens with cheaper, more affordable options that conform to their socioeconomic statuses and personal morals.” This is mostly false,. While premiums are going higher, “Insurance companies must now spend at least 80 percent of insurance premiums on medical care and improvements” (Pros). This means that the cost for care is becoming more affordable for many people, even if it does also make it somewhat less affordable for other people.

 

Max Gersch: On Gersch’s website, Gersch states that “Under the [Affordable Care Act] we have seen a rising number of insured Americans but premiums still continue to be unaffordable for many.” This claim is true as premiums continue to rise and are unaffordable for many. In fact, “if premiums go up about 20%, which is a pretty conservative estimate for 2018, over 50% of the rating areas will feature health insurance premiums that bust the 20% barrier for [certain] people” (Chandler). However, Gersch seems slow with his healthcare platform, not fully updating his platform on his website as of Jan. 3, 2018.

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Katherine Sylvester: Sylvester’s healthcare platform writes that Obamacare “has led to a staggering increase in taxes and forced pharmaceutical companies to raise prices for the average citizen. The proposed tax plan eliminates the Obamacare mandate, which requires a fee for people who choose not to buy Obamacare insurance.” This statement is mostly true. It is vague when Sylvester talks about fees for uninsured people, as the fee is meant for people who “don't have qualifying health coverage” as they “must pay a penalty known as the individual shared responsibility payment” (Fee). However, it is true that Obamacare has caused an increase in taxes and premiums. What is mostly false is that Obamacare is not affecting pharmaceutical companies; in fact, “its prices are higher and there’s nothing in the health law [Obamacare] that allows the government to push back” (Norman and Karlin-Smith).

 

Shehrez Chaudhri: In Chaudhri’s healthcare platform, he mentions that “in the current plan, the Affordable Care Act allows for families of four who are in the 138 percent of poverty to get about the same amount of aid as a person who holds a steady job. The people in the 138 percent of poverty get additional help from the government while the steady job keeper gets no help from the government.” This is true as “If your income is below 138% FPL and your state has expanded Medicaid coverage, you qualify for Medicaid based only on your income” (Federal). This means that the poor do get more health insurance aid from the government.

 

Jeremy Wenick: The Wenick campaign states that America excludes “around 10% of the country [from health insurance]. Obamacare, in the first two years it was established, dropped the uninsured rate by 4%.”  This is FALSE as the uninsured rate in America has been over 10% from 2008-2014 and Obamacare was passed in 2010 (Levy). Also, recently, “The percentage of U.S. adults without health insurance grew in the second quarter of 2017 to 11.7%, up from 11.3% in the first quarter” (Auter). In 2012, 2 years after Obamacare was signed, “The percentage of people without health insurance coverage declined to 15.4 percent” (Bureau).   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Works Cited:

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Auter, Zac. “U.S. Uninsured Rate Rises to 11.7%.” Gallup.com, 10 July 2017, news.gallup.com/poll/213665/uninsured-rate-rises.aspx.

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Bader, Pearl, et al. “Effects of Tobacco Taxation and Pricing on Smoking Behavior in High Risk Populations: A Knowledge Synthesis.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI), 26 Oct. 2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3228562/.

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Bureau, US Census. “Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the US: 2012.” The United States Census Bureau, 17 Sept. 2013, www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2013/cb13-165.html.

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Chandler, Seth. “Where Obamacare Has Become Unaffordable, Short Term Health Insurance Can Help.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 15 Aug. 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2017/08/15/where-obamacare-has-become-unaffordable-short-term-health-insurance-can-help/#6cd1e7994db6.

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“Federal Poverty Level (FPL) - HealthCare.Gov Glossary.” HealthCare.gov, www.healthcare.gov/glossary/federal-poverty-level-FPL/.

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“The fee for not being covered.” HealthCare.gov, www.healthcare.gov/why-coverage-is-important/the-fee-for-no-coverage/.

LaMotte, Sandee. “What doctors think about Obamacare.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Jan. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/01/13/health/obamacare-doctors-opinions-aca/index.html.

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Levy, Jenna. “U.S. Uninsured Rate Drops to 13.4%.” Gallup.com, 5 May 2014, news.gallup.com/poll/168821/uninsured-rate-drops.aspx.

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Luhby, Tami. “Premiums for popular Obamacare plans to soar 37% for 2018.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 30 Oct. 2017, money.cnn.com/2017/10/30/news/economy/obamacare-premiums/index.html.

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Norman, Brett, and Sarah Karlin-Smith. “The one that got away: Obamacare and the drug industry.” POLITICO, 13 July 2016, www.politico.com/story/2016/07/obamacare-prescription-drugs-pharma-225444.

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“The Pros and Cons of Obamacare.” Healthline, Healthline Media, www.healthline.com/health/consumer-healthcare-guide/pros-and-cons-obamacare#pros.

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Xu, Xin, and Frank J. Chaloupka. “The Effects of Prices on Alcohol Use and its Consequences.” Alcohol Research & Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3860576/.