Comparison of Clinton and Obama Health Care Systems Essay

President Clinton appointed his wife to champion the health reform effort, a move that many Americans were against (Thurber, 2015). Unlike Clinton, the Obama legislation had him heading the health reform effort.

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The Clinton health care system had Medicaid and Medicare. Clinton's reform entailed incorporating recipients under the Medicaid program into the mainstream health care system. This would be followed by enrolling patients on that plan into the mainstream. Changes in healthcare would also entail cutting down costs associated with Medicare and Medicaid by reducing dollars paid to doctors. Similarly, Obama's legislation aimed to cut costs on Medicaid and Medicare by minimizing inefficiencies and expanding coverage (McLaughlin & McLaughlin, 2015).

President Clinton felt that the care costs were so high and this didn't change during the Obama administration. Since the Clinton era up to date, the Americans believe that health care is expensive for many to access. Just like the Clinton administration, Obama's reform aimed to make the then health care system more efficient by cutting costs (Thurber, 2015). Clinton's administration believed that the government could collect extra savings from Medicaid and Medicare, and thus they integrated federal employees into the new system. This approach reduced tax-free health benefits. The prominent "sin tax" used during Clinton's legislation, however, evoked backlash during Obama's administration when he mentioned of it. The "sin tax" introduced 75% per pack cigarette tax and a 1% tax on any business that opted to form an alliance for health coverage (Friedman, 2013).

Clinton's plan was against those insurance companies that denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions, a similar approach used by Obama. Additionally, Obama focused more on preventive care and electronic records in hospitals as a move to reduce expenses to the country's health care system (McLaughlin & McLaughlin, 2015).

Another essential area to look when comparing the Obama and Clinton health care legislation is malpractice reform. Obama proposed a review of these reforms. Clinton's approach was to cut down lawyers' fee to discourage lawsuits. Additionally, Clinton offered parties to involve arbitrators before resolving to take matters to court (Thurber, 2015).

Conclusion

Friedman (2013) points out that the regulatory measures president Clinton and his wife implemented in the United States' health care system were also adopted in Obama's reforms. Obama worked towards building and improving the existing health care system. However, Obama's approach was more aggressive than that used by Clinton. Unlike Clinton, Obama's legislation became very invested in it. While the Clinton legislation spent over a year creating over a 1000-page bill which flopped, Obama's administration was more aggressive and successive.

References

Friedman, S. (2013). Rethinking the Rhetorical Presidency. New York: Routledge.

McLaughlin, & McLaughlin. (2015). Health policy analysis: An interdisciplinary approach (2nd ed). Sudbury, MA: ones and Bartlett. ISBN: 9781284037777.

Thurber, J. A. (2015). Obama in Office: The First Two Years. New York: Routledge.