This exercise is going to have you apply your understanding of the content of Module 3 to contemporary politics. You will relate knowledge you have acquired about Congress (chapter 12), The Presidency (chapter 13), The Bureaucracy (chapter 14) and The Judiciary (chapter 15). Be sure you have looked over the assigned readings before you prepare your response to this free write.
Our third writing assignment takes on the challenging but important topic of health care reform politics in the United States. I want you to explore different websites and links in order to prepare your thoughts about this topic. We can use our knowledge of separation of powers to understand the nature of the controversies and the basis of conflicts in the politics of health care reform. Our starting point is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. For an overview, please go to: United States Department of Health and Human Services and learn about the law. Our next stop is a review of the partisan conflict over the ACA: Five Signs the Fight Over Obama Care Isn’t Finished. Please read and review this source carefully as it describes the various ways in which the different branches of government have interacted in the years since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
I want you to think about the separation of powers and the ways in which it divides the branches of government. Designed to prevent one of the branches of government from dominating the others and instituting tyranny, today we find that in practice it is frustrating well intentioned policymaking. Can the branches of government work together in a bipartisan manner to adjust the ACA over time? For some perspective on the likelihood of bipartisan “technical corrections,” please read In Partisan Washington, Health Law Faces Grave Legal Technicalities.
Now, think about your own relationship to health care access and affordability. Do you benefit from Obamacare or do you have employer offered insurance?
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The concept of separation of power introduces us to the ways in which the federal government operates. Together with checks and balances, this structuring of political power has successfully prevented the imposition of tyrannical government. It has also produced periods of partisan battles and intractable opposition, like we face today. Is this actually good for our country?
Prompts: You will organize your free write response by incorporating the following information (this is required and be sure to make specific references to the sources that influence your position). Write in your own words: NO QUOTES, NO PARAPHRASES, NO PLAGIARISM!
1) Describe in general your experiences with the health care system in the United States (no graphic details, please).
2) After learning about the development and implementation of the ACA, do you feel it is appropriate for congressional Republicans to continue seeking the repeal of the law? Why or why not?
3) Are you supportive of the role of the United States Supreme Court in making its ACA rulings? Why or why not.
4) What have you learned by doing this assignment?
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