One of the most controversial industries in America today is healthcare. Once strictly privatized and mostly off limits to those who couldn’t afford the world-high premiums, today America is moving towards a more nationalized model with Obamacare. Though there has been much back and forth on whether government intervention is needed in the industry, Americans are paying the highest cost in the world for substandard care. It is clear something has to change.
One of the reasons why Americans are willing to pay high premiums is because health is so important. This makes healthcare extremely demand inelastic since when prices rise, demand drops at a slower rate. Health care companies know this and can use this principle to maximize profits. As a result, tens of millions of Americans can’t afford healthcare, and those who can are forced to overspend. This is why Obamacare seeks to make healthcare more of a public good. A system where those who can afford it still pay and those who can’t are given assistance. While many Americans still
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In order for the government to provide affordable insurance, taxes have to be raised. This burden falls on taxpayers to pick up the tab for the public good. In addition, Obamacare mandates that all Americans who can afford insurance must pay into it, which some say is a violation of their rights. They argue that the Government would be forced to take on too much responsibility, being forced to allocate finite resources efficiently around the country. There is also the concern over the how demand would react to increased availability and affordability. If people started visiting the doctor more often, would there be enough doctors and hospital rooms to service everyone? These are all reasonable concerns, and have largely been responsible for keeping healthcare privatized in the