Analysis Of Obamacare's Secret Success By Paul Krugman

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Good News for Obamacare Good News for Obamacare In recent months the rollout of Obamacare has been described as a total failure by our government. We hear about all of the problems with the website, the high costs of health care and the penalties we will all be paying for not participating in this mandatory program. There have been very few success stories that are publicized as much as these failures. In his article “Obamacare’s Secret Success,” author Paul Krugman (2013) uses facts and statistics to logically and clearly present factors that will contribute to the success of Obamacare; in addition to the websites he cites to back up his facts, he also uses strong key words to prove his argument that as long as the costs remain affordable…show more content…
He tells us percentages of savings, how those saving will help with medical accountability and how we can benefit from these savings. He tells us there appears to be a decline in some kinds of medical innovations, in particular, an absence of expensive new blockbuster drugs and that this is, in fact, the main reason the Medicare drug program has ended up costing less than originally projected (Krugman, 2013). Krugman also tells us that drug costs only make up about 10% of the overall health care costs so this won’t explain the huge success but it definitely plays its part. By using facts and figures that are believable numbers, we, as readers, don’t question his statement. He tells us that this savings is not astronomical, but definitely achievable. The author goes on to state that there’s evidence that the Medicare savings spill over to the rest of the health care system – that when Medicare manages to slow cost growth, private insurance gets cheaper too (Krugman, 2013). The reduction in the Medicare overpayment is a very clear area that is contributing to the savings. He claims that there are several areas in which overpayments to Medicare providers have been reduced. Hospitals are now penalized for “poor care”. If there are patients re-admitted within a certain time frame of being released that is one indication of poor care from an institution and there are penalties. Hospitals now have to thoroughly treat a patient the first time around. According to Krugman, Medicare is also encouraging a system in which organizations are rewarded for overall success instead of doctors and hospitals being paid by the procedure. This will be very encouraging news to the people that are receiving the larger portion of health care. Knowing that the doctors are increasing their standard of care will give peace of mind to the patients. By

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