Obama's health care plan Archives - Dr. KarenTurnerPhD

Obama’s Reversal of Bush’s Stem Cell Research Policy

Karen Turner — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 19:32:12 +0000

News reports have been buzzing about stem cell policy and the stark difference in opinion that President Obama has from former President Bush. For the average person, like myself, a bit of research is necessary in order to understand what the issue is exactly. Turns out, it’s a simple one really, but it has far-reaching implications.
In 2001, former President Bush had imposed a restriction on federal funding for stem-cell research citing a moral stance against anything that resembled cloning. He did not offer too much of an explanation at the time simply stating that it contradicted the platform of his policy for the nation. Many were left to speculate as to why the restriction was enforced. Some came to the conclusion that he chose to silence the debate on exactly how embryonic stem cell research can possibly lead to human cloning and deciding to take a moral/political stance against it.

In sharp contrast, President Obama recently announced that the restriction on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research has been lifted. President Obama believes that funding the programs for developing stem-cell research does not put morals and science at odds with each other. In fact he states that “Rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced, what I believe is, a false choice between sound science and moral values.” He went on farther to say, “In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering.” He focused on the possible benefits from the research and the great medical advances that could be produced from further research. He claimed that the scientists had been hindered by the political agenda of the former leader of the White House and that now was a time to encourage genuine scientific research and a restoration of scientific integrity and not mask it with political motives.

So how does this new ruling affect the average Baby Boomer? Stem-cell research is believed to have the potential to find cures for such diseases as diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and, even, Parkinson’s disease. Scientists in this area are finding ways to produce cells that will replace the important cells that people who suffer from these diseases lack. For example, in the case of a diabetic, they are attempting to grow cells that can produce insulin so as to eliminate that diabetic’s need to inject him/herself with insulin.

As you can see, this is a pretty big deal, and Bush avoided the debate of cloning by simply eliminating the government’s hand in any of this type of research. There are some people who believe that embryonic stem cell research will inevitably result into cloning, but many others believe that as stem-cell research does not actually delve into the production of all cells, but rather specific cells for specific purposes. President Obama made his stance on cloning clear by stating that stem-cell research will be governed by strict guidelines saying “And we will ensure that our government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction. It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any society.”
President Obama’s decision can mean good news for us, because it may mean a step closer to cures that have escaped doctors for years. However, until we know exactly what those strict guidelines are for monitoring the research we can’t really say whether the flood gates have been opened for human cloning or anything of the like. ‘Tis the twenty-first century indeed!

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Obama’s Plan to Rescue Health Care

Karen Turner — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 18:36:39 +0000

President Obama introduced us to his healthcare plan when he was competing to be the Democratic representative for the presidential race. He’s received a lot of praise for it with many persons saying that it was a practical approach to a very big problem. Now, President Obama is about to embark on implementing the plans and the voices of those in opposition have become louder. Do we still want better health care at any price?

Obama proposes in his health plan that typical American families will save about $2,500 per year on health insurance alone. He proposes to do this by injecting more money into health insurance schemes for the purpose of expanding them into full coverage schemes where necessary and to make them cheaper and so available to more persons. Employers will be required to provide more coverage for their workers and the government will help them in covering their expenses by rolling back the tax cuts on the wealthiest tax payers in the country.

President Obama hopes to shift the focus of health spending from paying insurance companies to investing in better healthcare equipment and funding preventative and detective services such as scans for cancer etc. He, also, proposes to get funding from lifting the tax cuts on inheritances over $7 million dollars that former President Bush put in place. President Obama, also, intends to establish a regulatory system for insurance companies to ensure that they do not refuse coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions and to prevent them from charging exorbitant fees from their private clients. So how is any of this bad?

Requiring companies to cover more of their employees’ insurance could mean that you will go home with less of your salary in your hand because your employer will have to allocate more of the payroll towards paying for your insurance schemes. Also, the problem that this presents for Baby Boomers is that most of the healthcare plan is focused on workers. When you retire, then what happens to your health insurance?

Under this scheme, some people are claiming that you will no longer be able to access insurance because the coverage that President Obama is pushing is primarily for those who are working. It has been argued that though the plan covers public healthcare it does not cut the cost per se; but simply provides more access to things that were limited before. For example, if you could not get a wheelchair under a public healthcare scheme but under Obama’s plan you will be able to access it. But, is this really better? And is this the best way to go about it?

Political bloggers have highlighted a way to elude the heavier taxes that are to be imposed on the wealthier tax payers. If they divide their investments so that their final sums are lower than the prescribed limit given by the government, then they fall below the amount to be taxed and funding for the healthcare plan dwindles. It is assumed then, that in an effort to sustain the plan, the general American population will have to face higher taxes and this was not a problem addressed by his proposal.

President Obama has not finalized all the details in his presentation on the healthcare plan and so people are awaiting a verdict on the many questions that have emerged after further investigation into his healthcare plan. It is obvious that the plan needs to be further refined. After all, Americans can’t work forever and when they stop working what will they do for healthcare then? We, at BoomerYearbook.com, will keep you posted on news of the healthcare plan and how it affects Baby Boomers.

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