How to fix Obamacare?

What do you get when you mix good intentions and politics?

According to James Capretta, a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the answer is an imperfect healthcare law.

In a Thursday CLP titled An Alternative to Obamacare, Capretta discussed the strong opinions and controversies surrounding health care. He also highlighted some of his recommendations on how the cracks in the system should be fixed.

The topic of health care has become more widespread since the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Affordable Care Act, of 2010. Capretta declared that the law passed because we didn’t know any other way to provide all Americans with equal access to health care. He said faulty elements of the system include a large, cumbersome and clumsy centralized power structure and rising debt attached government run healthcare.

The United States, said Capretta, is the only industrialized nation where people are struggling to be part of the system because of its complexity. However, this is happening because the U.S government is trying to account for all medical circumstances under the new law.

Capretta discussed the systems of other countries, such as Canada, and how their systems are very efficient and useful, but only to everyday simple medical treatment. He explained that often Canadians in need of cancer treatment will come to doctors in the United States because Canadian insurance does not cover such medical treatment.

Capretta predicted that by 2024 2.5 million more Americans will drop out of the workforce than if the law hadn’t been enacted, approximately one percent of the U.S population. People will be able to leave the workforce because they will no longer have to work for their healthcare.

“This puts labor markets at disequilibrium” said Capretta.

Capretta said the U.S. government should allow states and employers to determine what they want in their policies, which would give more benefit flexibility. Overall, he emphasized the importance of the marketplace decision and having more flexibility in choosing insurance plans.

Approximately 100 students attended the lecture which was sponsored by the Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow.