Healthcare Debate Topics — Where We Are In 2019

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FirstQuoteHealth

7 min readJan 25, 2019

The 2018 midterm election saw one of the biggest voter turnouts in our nation’s history, including the most ballots cast in 50 years. According to reports, over 47% of eligible voters exercised their rights, which was up from around 37% in 2014. The massive spike in voters hitting the polls was in response to the heightened political divide in the US, and citizens wanted to make sure their values and voices were being heard and fairly represented by candidates and policies that were on the ballots.

If you’ve turned on the news at all in the last few years, then you know there are plenty of hot button topics that are splitting the country in two. From the border wall and immigration reform to safe spaces and civil rights, no topic seemed to drive voters to the polls more than the current US healthcare system. If you haven’t been tuning in, here’s what’s going on.

The Healthcare Debate Explained

Like our gun laws and imperial system, the US likes to play by our own rules, and the same can be said about our healthcare system. Unlike most developed countries who have some sort of government-run or single-payer system, the United States still prefers to leave the choice up to the consumer.

The problem?

Americans are having an incredibly difficult time paying for health insurance, let alone medical services if they choose to go uninsured. Regardless of whether you blame the rising cost of healthcare on government policy and intervention, or point the finger at corporate greed and lack of oversight, the problem is facing people on both sides of the political spectrum and isn’t showing much promise of resolution any time soon.

Divide Along Party Lines

In 2010, President Obama and his administration decided they were going to try and tackle the growing number of Americans without health coverage, and passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which you may now know as Obamacare. In 2014, the health insurance marketplaces opened for the first time, and millions of individuals and families rushed to get insurance during the 90-day Open Enrollment Period.

Even with higher premiums, government subsidies were available to more people, than ever before. It was also now illegal to deny people based on their pre-existing conditions, skimpy health plans were eliminated from the marketplaces, and it finally seemed like the US was moving in the right direction.

However, there was another problem. While Obamacare was widely praised by Democratic leaders and party members, there were those on the other side that took issue with the historic piece of healthcare legislation, and thus began one of the most tumultuous debates of our time.

Republican leaders and party members vehemently opposed the ACA for a few reasons. First, it was passed by President Obama, a popular Democratic figure who was pushing for more social programs at the cost of the taxpayer, which irked his opposition. Second, those who didn’t qualify for premium tax credits found the marketplace too expensive, since they were now footing the bill for people with pre-existing conditions and limited income and resources. Lastly, and probably most importantly, health insurance was now a requirement, which many viewed as unconstitutional.

The individual mandate, which was a provision that helped prop up the ACA, required all Americans to enroll in health insurance or face a tax penalty. A move that was applauded by the left, and jeered by the right. There is definitely more to the current healthcare debate than the ACA and its provisions, but it definitely contributed to where we stand now.

Healthcare Debate Topics 2019

After the midterm elections last year, the Democrats took back the House. That means all the work President Trump and his administration did to undermine the ACA will be reviewed, and all future endeavors to repeal Obamacare will face fierce opposition. All the pieces are in place to make 2019 one of the most critical years for healthcare, as both Democrats and Republicans gear up for the 2020 election. Here are some of the topics to watch out for.

Medicare For All

Medicare for All is a proposal that was made popular by presidential candidate Bernie Sanders during the 2016 election. While controversial in the US, a tax-funded, government-run healthcare program is already commonplace among most developed nations.

What Sanders, and other proponents of Medicare for All, hope for is a future where every American has access to the same level of healthcare, regardless of income. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York’s newly elected Representative, is helping push the single-payer healthcare model, and it seems to be gaining traction.

It’s easy to see why, with so much money going towards our health, a break on medical bills would be welcomed with open arms. Blue states, like California, are already working on plans to implement their own version of Medicare for All, although it probably won’t happen before the 2020 election period.

Medicare for All is picking up steam, especially among millennials, but there is plenty of pushback, including from members of the Democratic party. Many would still like to fix Obamacare and think it’s the best solution to the broken healthcare system currently in place. Republicans are strongly against it, citing its high cost. In fact, over the next 10 years, the single payer plan is projected to cost about $32 trillion, which is a major point of contention among the GOP. Others cite a lack of competition would be a major setback to the competitive nature that drove the recent advancements of medical technology and medicine.

Democrats: Split

Republicans: Against

Repealing The Affordable Care Act

We touched on the Affordable Care Act a bit earlier, and although President Trump was unable to fulfill his promise of repealing Obamacare after he was elected, he has made major strides in his pursuit of dismantling it. For starters, Trump signed an executive order eliminating the individual mandate, which was used to maintain a large risk pool, allowing private insurers to keep premiums in check while still accepting members with pre-existing conditions. The move, which went into effect on January 1, will surely be a talking point if the ACA sees any setbacks moving forward.

Obamacare isn’t perfect, but many on the right view it as a stepping stone to a better healthcare system. Recently, Democratic leaders have been making a case to shift the focus from Medicare for All back to fixing Obamacare. In fact, this year, surprisingly enough, marketplace prices stayed stable, in spite of Trump’s efforts. So, it may be more feasible for the DNC to back the current law rather than rewriting it. However, there is still a big push for Medicare for All, which is a bit more appealing to some.

What will be interesting to see is whether or not the President makes a stronger push to repeal the Affordable Care Act if he doesn’t get the funding he needs for the border wall. If he can’t make good on either promise, he may circle back with increased efforts to eliminate the ACA and implement his own legislation.

On the other side of the spectrum, the GOP strongly supports repealing Obamacare, but have yet to come up with a solution to replace it. Republicans strongly prefer letting the free market work itself out without having government intervention, which does warrant some merit.

You may remember the famous LendingTree line, “when banks compete, you win.” The concept isn’t new and coincides with economic theory. More competition forces private companies to compete for customers, which would inevitably create a price war. In turn, Americans may end up paying less for healthcare.

Democrats: Against

Republicans: In favor

Women’s Reproductive Rights

This one isn’t new, but you can expect it to continue its reign as one of the most hotly contested healthcare debate topics in 2019. Essentially, the conversation boils down to giving women the right to choose whether and when to bear children. However, there’s more to the debate than that. The conversation also includes personal beliefs on when life begins and the health implications of stripping women of their right to choose.

Planned Parenthood has long been at the center of this debate since they are one of the nation’s leaders for reproductive rights. Many on the right have a negative view towards Planned Parenthood, citing it is the number one abortion provider. Adversely, on the left, many champion the organization as one that fights for women and their right to make decisions about their own bodies.

While the debate over the years has seen little promise of a finding common ground, it’s funding for Planned Parenthood and other facilities which empower women that are on the line. President Trump and the GOP want to see federal funding for Planned Parenthood eliminated. There has been significant pushback though, as the left points to the fact Planned Parenthood does more than for women’s reproductive health than is currently available through our healthcare system.

Democrats: In favor