America’s Healthcare Is An Embarrassing Disgrace

As an American living in Hong Kong who has access to affordable health care, watching the Repeal and Replace Obamacare debate and vote to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, was embarrassing and painful. The Affordable Health Care Act was passed without a Congressional Budget Office analysis, only three hours final debate with no amendments allowed.

The AHCA passed by the House of Representatives and now in the hands of the Senate, is an incomprehensible humanitarian disaster that will result in untold avoidable deaths and suffering for millions of Americans for no reason. The government itself estimates that AHCA will lead to 24 million fewer Americans with health insurance. The bill was opposed by the American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, American Association of Retired People, as well as hospital and patient advocacy groups.

AHCA would allow states to re-impose annual and lifetime caps on some benefits and erode protections against rejection of surcharges for consumers with medical conditions.

The legislation also cuts more than $1 trillion in federal healthcare assistance to low and moderate-income Americans, primarily through the retrenchment of Medicaid, the half-century old government health plan for the poor. By killing Medicaid expansion the bill would expose some 10 million low-income Americans to life without insurance coverage.

Several studies have shown that Trump’s own supporters, living in rural areas, would fare far worse, paying higher premiums or losing benefits.

In Hong Kong, like most developed countries, there is universal health care coverage. I receive the best world-class medical care whenever I visit a public hospital or doctor for less than US$15! That’s right. I can go get blood tests, X-rays, CAT scans and medical treatment for less than $15 as I just did last month. It gets better. If I have to check into the hospital for a few days after a surgery or to be under medical supervision it costs me less than US$100!

The ACHA is not only dangerous for the physical health of millions of Americans but to their financial health as well. The high cost of medical care in America is a major contributing factor to personal bankruptcies. An especially rigorous analysis published in 2014 by Daniel A. Austin, a law professor at Northeastern University concluded that “medical bills are the single largest cause of consumer bankruptcy.”

Only Massachusetts has successfully crafted a healthcare overhaul that provides all its residents with insurance protections. That 2006 initiative – which was heavily subsidized by the Bush administration – became the model for Obamacare.

Is Obamacare perfect? Of course not. It does need to be amended to address many of its short comings. It does not need to be repealed and replaced by Trump-Ryan care.

Universal health coverage is not only good for Americans health. It is good for their financial security and that of the country. Hopefully, the Senate will repeal Trump-Ryan care and just amend Obamacare.