IN THE US, HEALTH CARE IS PRIVILEGE

Obamacare had helped 20 mn to gain healthcare coverage

In 1944, president Franklin Roosevelt urged Congress to pass a “second bill of rights.” Number six on the list was “the right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health.”

Seventy-three years later, despite the passage of many health care reforms, his dream remains as controversial as it was back then.

Under former president Barack Obama, more than 20 million previously uninsured Americans gained health care coverage. Those who would have once had to sell their homes to pay for cancer treatments or limited doctors’ visits because of the cost gained at least some peace of mind.

But in the land of rugged individualism, health care has never attained the status of fundamental right, unlike education.

Health insurance is simply a product like any other, say Republicans who, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, are trying to repeal most of Obamacare, the landmark law signed in 2010.

Trump extracted a muchneeded victory from Congress on Friday as Republicans narrowly pushed through the House of Representatives a Bill repealing the landmark health reforms of his predecessor. Millions of Americans are likely to lose health insurance coverage under the American Health Care Act — Republicans’ proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare. Just how many will lose cover, how many people it would cover and how much it would cost, is not yet estimated.

However, the most recent score for the Bill found that over 24 million more people would be uninsured by 2026, according to Vox.

— Agencies

OBAMACARE HAD expanded Medicaid to cover adults who earn up to $16,400 a year. The new Bill would end the enhanced federal Medicaid funding for new enrollees starting in 2020, CNN reported.