A Glance at Each Nominee’s Supposed Healthcare Plan

This election cycle has brought with it plenty to debate about; a popular issue this election year has been the candidate’s proposed healthcare plans. And just like everything else, President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have completely different views on what healthcare in the United States should look like.

Naturally, we begin with the incumbent’s plan. We have all heard President Trump criticize Obamacare from his first day in office. At the presidential debate in Tennessee, President Trump spoke about how throughout his term in office he has been tweaking Obamacare. Trump claims he is trying to make it more successful, but the President claims at the end of the day Obamacare needs to be thrown out all together and replaced with a better plan, perhaps we can call it Trump-care. The White House’s website reflects his dismay with posts reading:

“Obamacare is hurting American families, farmers, and small businesses with skyrocketing health insurance costs. Moreover, soaring deductibles and copays have made already unaffordable plans unusable.”

and

“Replacing Obamacare will force insurance companies to compete for their customers with lower costs and higher-quality service.”

In common trump fashion, he has opted not to construct a full healthcare plan like politicians usually do, but instead to write a series of smaller reforms that will collectively make a drastic change in our healthcare system. His approach has been working to an extent as Trump has made a number of reforms that are now in effect and we have seen the effect of some of these reforms in the shape of dropping prices for some specific (and common) items, this includes Insulin which is now being sold at record low prices. On the flip side, many Americans are uncomfortable by the fact that they do not have a large-scale plan to read through. Causing many American’s to feel in the dark, regarding where healthcare will be once Trump is finished with it. Of course these concerns are met with the response that Donald Trump aims to lower the price of healthcare and drive innovation through competition. Skeptics are then pointed toward some data indicating this is already occurring. And to be fair, this competition approach is tried and true in American history. All in all, it seems those voting for Donald Trump will have to stomach some uncertainty as to what his final plan is and find comfort in the breadcrumbs we have now.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has a very different plan for Healthcare. Joe Biden said at the debate in Tennessee that Biden care will be better than Obamacare. This is a stark difference to trump as instead of repealing the existing plan he will add to it. In other words, Biden care extends Obamacare. Another difference between the campaigns is that Biden lists on his website the following goals of his healthcare plan.

1. Give every American access to affordable health insurance.
2. Provide the peace of mind of affordable, quality health care and a less complex health care system.
3. Stand up to abuse of power by prescription drug corporations.
4. Ensure Health Care is a right for all, not a privilege for just a few.

It is likely those Americans who felt discomfort by the fact that Donald Trump has not released an over-arching plan, will be the same Americans who feel appeased by Joe Biden’s clearly stated goals. Critics of his plan recall some of the cons associated with Obamacare. Examples of these negative associations being, a phenomenon deemed physician burnout, higher premiums, and fines for not having insurance. It is important to remember however that Biden care will not be exactly Obamacare, the former Vice President is adding to the top of the old plan. in summation, it seems that if you liked Obamacare you will like Bidencare.

P.S.

It is hard to compare and contrast such vastly different plans, sort of akin to comparing apples to oranges. The best I can do is list each plans attributes and allow one of them to grab my attention and then try to rationalize why? As of now I appreciate that Biden states plainly his goals, but also wonder if the competition Donald Trump wishes to instill in the healthcare system will address those things naturally. As I am not a healthcare professional nor an econometrician it appears I may be suffering this mental-quarrel up until I fill in my ballot.