Blog #8 - What I'm Thankful For...(homework)

           I’m thankful for a lot of things in my life.  I’m healthy, I have steady jobs, a roof over my head and a beautiful family that loves and supports me.  One of the most important things I can say that I’m most appreciative of, was to be given the opportunity to come and reside in the United States. At first, I was very afraid. I didn’t know what to expect and if I was going to like living here. Even though I came with my parents I didn’t want to leave my relatives behind, especially my maternal grandparents whom I had a very close relationship with. In the Beginning it was very hard to get used to the American lifestyle and the freezing weather.  As the years passed by we become more settled. Now I have a younger sibling, my parents have good jobs, we live in a beautiful home, I graduated High School and soon I’ll be graduating LaGuardia Community College.  My life is far from perfect but I feel blessed to live the way I do. This country has offered me so many opportunities.  I gained so much maturity and responsibility at a young age and today I have the strength to cope with two jobs and still make time to go to school. As stressful as it may sound I feel very accomplished.

Blog # 7 Things I'm Thankful For... (classwork)

1. My beautiful family and true friends
2. Good health and Safety
3. To cope with two jobs on a daily basis
4. Education
5. The opportunity to live in this country
6. Strengh and determination
7. My boyfriend
8. Life in general
9. Technology (my cellphone & macbook)
10. To have a roof over my head
11. Freedom
12. I'M THANKFUL FOR WHO I AM, I LOVE MYSELF <3

Blog # 6 - My Experience Peer Editing 101 Papers & How Could This Benefit Me...

      Editing Eng 101 drafts wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. To me it was very time consuming because I actually used the entire class period to carefully revise the papers. As horrible as it may sound, I thought the essays were going to be a disaster. I was once an Eng 101 student so I know how hard it is to write a college essay format paper for the first time. I went through a lot of C’s and spent a lot of time in the English department to get where I am right now. To my surprise they weren’t bad at all, they were actually quite good and enjoyable to read. Overall, the two drafts had lots of good information. Although they were assigned the same topic, both papers were very unique.  The first essay talked about leading terms to a successful romantic relationship and the second one described how technology and social networking websites have been very influential in developing all types of relationships. Both papers had minor grammar errors, run-on sentences, and lacked proper quotation. I was skeptical at first because I did not want to give them the wrong feedback or to sound rude. I tried my best to give them as much information I could. I gave quoting examples; I told them to proofread their papers, and I gave them positive feedback as well as constructive criticism. I sincerely think that I’m not qualified to peer edit anyone’s paper because sometimes I still struggle with mines, but I hope that with what I learned from prior Eng classes, I was able to help these students strive for a successful paper.

        

       Peer editing made me overlook my research paper more in depth. I keep proof reading it over and over to see what I could fix and if my argument supports my thesis. According to Professor McCormick, I have lots of good information but I need to clarify my position, so I’ll be definitely working on improving this issue.  I’ve been dedicating a lot of time on my paper and I’ll continue to do so because it’s yet to be done. I’ll have all my body paragraphs developed by the end of this month and I’ll keep revising it till the day it’s due. I’m giving this research paper my all and I hope that my hard work pays off at the end of the semester.

Blog # 5 - Motified Thesis and Additional Body Paragraphs.

Natalia Duarte

Eng 103

Dr. McCormick
Natalia.Duarte89@gmail.com
          

                                                Research Paper Draft # 3

           President Obama’s Poorly Designed Health Care Reform.

                 

             The making of President Obama’s long campaign trail explains how the politician who emerged in an extraordinary election, learned the personal and political skills necessary to make history in American Politics and worldwide. Throughout his candidacy, Obama campaigned for a better health care reform. However, after more than a year in office, he signed the new health care bill that has sparked tension and controversy between democrats and republicans. Despite the President’s good intention to aid those who cannot afford to buy private health insurance or to force employers to provide their employees health coverage even in the smallest of business by 2014, many Americans still doubt the real benefits behind this bill. Instead of creating a whole new health system, the law tries to upgrade the current one.  The gap between how much Americans spend on health care and what they get in return occurs because they are embedded in a confusing system that gives them low value for their money, which makes people demand more than they need.  I believe that president Obama’s health care bill was rushed, poorly designed and it should have been implemented in a more inclusive, publicly funded way.

        

     The New health Care law will cause a costly and continuous economical downturn nationwide. Peter Grier, author of Health Care Reform Bill 101; Who Will Pay For Reform? states,“ Change like that doesn't come cheap. More specifically, change like that would cost about $940 billion over its first 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.” The law doesn’t make a single change to achieve its goal of insuring nearly all Americans. Instead, it provides a loose safety net designed to attract people who do not receive health coverage

through employment and can't afford to buy their own, who are unemployed, and those who have been dependent on their insurance due to pre existing conditions. After the bill is enacted in 2014, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, with the exception of immigrants who will neither benefit from this law nor Medicaid even if they pay out of their own pockets. Moreover, everyone must purchase health insurance or face a “$695 annual fee”. According to Arthur B. Laffer, author of How to Fix the Health-Care

Wedge, “a one trillion increase in federal government health subsidies will accelerate health-care inflation, lead to continued growth in health-care expenditures, and diminish our economic growth even further.” The bill plans to overtax small businesses, large employers and the rich. If business owners cannot afford their employees, the health-care recipients will lose their jobs. With the rise in unemployment, more people will have to depend on the government (welfare) to make ends meet. Additionally, they won’t be able to pay for either health insurance or imposed fees.

            Initially, America has the world’s most expensive health care cost. According to William E. Lafferty, author of Healing, Medical Care, and Health Service Organizations, “the United States has by far the most expensive health care system in the world per capita (per person).” Many indices of health care effectiveness shows that the United States fares very poorly in comparison to other developed capitalist countries. Almost all the other developed capitalist countries have universal health care. All their citizens are insured and their per capita costs are much lower. Even communist Cuba and capitalist Denmark provides free health care for all of its citizens and both countries have a lower infant mortality rate than the U.S.  Indeed, many may argue that they rather have freedom then free health care but sometimes I wonder if I am really living in the land of the free. Canada also has a much lower infant and overall mortality rate than the U.S. Holly Dressel, author of Has Canada Got the Cure? states,“ Most Americans are unaware that the United States is the only country in the world that doesn’t already have a fundamentally public-that is, tax-supported-health care system.”  In other words, the U.S has been divided between private and public health care funding for the past 30 years or so. The difference is that Canada has a single-payer system. The government pays for almost all medical costs. In contrast, the United States rely on many competitive private insurance companies (non-profit as well as for- profit) and employment-based insurance plans, ignoring the fact that this type of funding leads to the fall in public health.  It is also unfortunate that about half of all reasons for bankruptcy in the United States are due to a serious health problems, coverage denial, and costly medical bills. Unlike the current system, single payer would let patients choose their own doctors and put an end to the bureaucratic policies of private insurances. Health care would be both affordable and universal, and the inequalities in health care would no longer contribute to the overall inequalities of U.S. society. Therefore single-payer would be a big step in the right direction.

         One of the biggest gaps in the new health care system occurs within employment-based insurance. The original plan was to help families keep their health costs to an estimated 10% of income, until  Congress realized they couldn’t afford to support everyone. Large companies are expected to continue to offer coverage to their employees but we can’t say the same about the smallest companies. For this matter, Congress imposed the fine, which is completely understandable because every employee, be the firm large or small, should be entitled to health coverage. Since this bill was rushed and not carefully analyzed, something had to go wrong. The penalty that companies will pay for failing to offer coverage is lower than the actual cost of the insurance. So basically, employers have the choice to either provide insurance or pay the fine since it’s cheaper. Nothing will count against them as long as they’re paying the fine, the government won’t interfere.  To be continued…

         The New health Care reform will cause a continuous economical downturn. According to Arthur B. Laffer, author of How to Fix the Health-Care Wedge, “a one trillion increase in federal government health subsidies will accelerate health-care inflation, lead to continued growth in health-care expenditures, and diminish our economic growth even further.” The bill’s plan is to overtax small businesses, large employers and the rich. If business owners cannot afford their employees, the health-care recipients will lose their jobs. With the rise in unemployment, more people will have to depend on the government (welfare) to make ends meet. Additionally, they won’t be able to pay for either health insurance or imposed fees. Thomas E. Getzen author of Health Economics and Financing also states, “ An economic boom feels so good that people may not realize that such high growth rates are abnormal, that another recession is bound to come eventually” (314-15).   To be continued…

Work Cited:

 Dressel, Holly.  “Has Canada Got the Cure?”   Yes Magazine  4 Aug.  2006.  30 Oct. 2010< http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/health-care-for-all/has-canada-got-the-cure>.

Getzen, Thomas E. “Health Economics and Finance.” Ed. Wiley, 4^th edition.  New Jersey,  2010.    314-15.  Print.       

Laffer B. Arthur.  “How to Fix the Health-Care Wedge.”  The Wall Street Journal

5  Aug. 2009.  19 Oct. 2010 SB1000124052970204619004574324361508092006.html>.

 Lafferty E. William. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

Healing, Medical Care, and Health Service Organizations. Washington: DOHS, 2004. PDF file.

Regnier Pat, Michelle Andrews, and Amanda Gengler. " The Truth About Health

Care Reform." Money 39.4 (2010): 70-80. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct. 2010.

Blog # 4 - Additional 2 pages ( Intro revision and Body I )

Natalia Duarte

Eng 103

Dr. McCormick

         

                                          Research Paper Draft # 2

                  President Obama’s Poorly Designed Health Care Reform.

             The making of a president and Obama’s long campaign trail explains how the politician who emerged in an extraordinary election, learned the personal and political skills necessary to make history in American Politics and worldwide. However, after more than a year in office, Obama has felt the need to address and reform the nation’s health care system. Despite the president’s good intention to aid those who cannot afford to buy private health insurance or to force employers to provide their employees heath coverage even in the smallest of business by 2014, many Americans still doubt the real benefits behind this bill.  I strongly disagree with the term “Obamacare,” commonly emphasized by the opposition. Why call it “Obamacare” when it was the Congress especially the republicans who tore this bill apart to make it what it is today. Instead of creating a whole new health system, the law tries to upgrade the current one. Their vision of reform will become the pain instead of the remedy and will be criticized as the cause of the problem when coverage starts hurting the nation’s pockets. The gap between how much Americans spend on health care and what they get in return occurs because they are embedded in a confusing system that gives them low value for their money, which makes people demand more than they need. According to William E. Lafferty, author of Healing, Medical Care, and Health Service Organizations, “ the United States has by far the most expensive health care system in the world per capita (per person).” Many indices of health care effectiveness shows that the United States fares very poorly in comparison to other developed capitalist countries. Almost all the other developed capitalist countries have universal health care. All their citizens are insured and their per capita costs are much lower. Even poor socialized Cuba provides free health care for all of it’s citizens and has a lower infant mortality rate than the U.S. I believe that president Obama’s health care bill was rushed, poorly designed and messed with by too many politicians who just simply swept the nation’s health care crisis under the rug.

     

      The New health Care law will cause a costly and continuous economical downturn nationwide. Peter Grier, author of Health Care Reform Bill 101; Who Will Pay For Reform? states,“ Change like that doesn't come cheap. More specifically, change like that would cost about $940 billion over its first 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.” The law doesn’t make a single change to achieve its goal of insuring nearly all Americans. Instead, it provides a loose safety net designed to attract people who do not receive health coverage through employment and can't afford to buy their own, who are unemployed, and those who have been dependent on their insurance due to pre existing conditions. After the bill is enacted in 2014, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, with the exception of immigrants who will neither benefit from this law nor Medicaid even if they pay out of their own pockets. Moreover, everyone must purchase health insurance or face a “$695 annual fee”. According to Arthur B. Laffer, author of How to Fix the Health-Care Wedge, “a one trillion increase in federal government health subsidies will accelerate health-care inflation, lead to continued growth in health-care expenditures, and diminish our economic growth even further.” The bill plans to overtax small businesses, large employers and the rich. If business owners cannot afford their employees, the health-care recipients will lose their jobs. With the rise in unemployment, more people will have to depend on the government (welfare) to make ends meet. Additionally, they won’t be able to pay for either health insurance or imposed fees.

Work Cited:

Laffer B. Arthur.  “ How to Fix the Health-Care Wedge.”  The Wall Street Journal 5 Aug. 2009.  19 Oct. 2010.

             
Lafferty E. William. The Journal of  Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Healing, Medical Care, and Health Service Organizations. Washington: DOHS, 2004. PDF file.

Blog # 3- Introduction Paragraph ( President Obama's poorly designed health care reform)

        The making of a president and Obama’s long campaign trail explains how the politician who emerged in an extraordinary election, learned the personal and political skills necessary to make history in American Politics and worldwide. However, after more than a year in office, Obama has felt the need to address and reform the nation’s health care system. Despite the president’s good intentions to aid those who do not pursue health insurance or to force employers to provide their employees heath coverage even in the smallest of business by 2014, many Americans still doubt the benefits of this bill. This reform will become the pain instead of the remedy and will be criticized as the cause of the problem when coverage starts hurting the nation’s pockets. Instead of creating a whole new health system, the law tries to implement the current one, which is clearly not succeeding. The gap between how much Americans spend on health care and what they get in return occurs because they are embedded in a confusing system that gives them low value for their money. I believe that president Obama’s health care reform was rushed, poorly designed and it should have been passed in 2014, when the bill actually becomes enforced.

Blog # 2 - Anotated Bibliography.

- The Following citations are listed in alphabetical order:

 Flier, Jeffrey S. "Health care reform: without a correct diagnosis, there is no cure." Journal of Clinical Investigation 119.10 (2009): 2850-2852. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.

         

In this article, the author offers views concerning the potential significance of health care reform in the U.S. He relates that good medicine means identifying and treating the cause and symptoms of disease but he stresses concern on the propose changes to Medicare benefits.

Guterman, Stuart, et al. "Innovation In Medicare And Medicaid Will Be Central To Health  Reform's Success." Health Affairs 29.6 (2010): 1188-1193. Academic Search  Complete. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2010.

                  

In this article the author states on how the health care reform will benefit Medicaid and Medicare services. This paper presents recommendations that would maximize the new center's effectiveness in promoting reforms that can improve the quality and value of care in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Harnden, Toby. “ Protesters Lash Our At ‘Obamacare’ ; Weekend Rally.”National Post 14 Oct.2009, national ed.: A12. LexisNexis Academic.Web. 3 Oct. 2010.

Despite a speech to Congress to quell opposition to change their minds about the health-care bill, President Obama has been facing a lot more than just irony. This article talks about the rallies and protests that have been constantly happening outside of the White House and elsewhere in the nation to overthrow the Obama “tea party.”

Hosssain, Farhana and Quealy, Kevin. “ How the Halth Care Overhaul Could Affect You.” The New York Times 21 Mar. 2010.  4 Oct. 2010<http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/21/us/health-care-reform.html?scp=1&sq=How-the-Health-Care-Overhaul-Could-Affect-You&st=cse>.

In this article, the authors state the major ways that the new health care bill will affect those who currently have health insurance and those who do not. Is this Health care Law unconstitutional? Is it fair to force all Americans to buy heath insurance? Is it fair to make Americans pay a fine for not having some sort of health insurance?

Obama, Barack. Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's  Promise.  New York: Three Rivers Press, 2008. Print.

This book describes President Obama’s plan to Renew Americans political flaws. Through this book, Obama outlines his vision for the country in terms of Iraq, tax reduction, social security benefits, unemployment, terrorism and last but not least, affordable health care for the American society.

"ObamaCare's Excuses." Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition 04 Feb. 2010: A18. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Oct. 2010

           

          In this article, the author discusses the reasons presented by U.S. President Barack Obama as to why the ‘Obamacare’ health care reform is experiencing challenges.

Obama, Barack. Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's

Promise.  New York: Three Rivers Press, 2008. Print.

This book describes President Obama’s plan to Renew Americans political flaws. Through this book, Obama outlines his vision for the country in terms of Iraq, tax reduction, social security benefits, unemployment, terrorism and last but not least, affordable health care for the American society.

Parker, Ashley. “Feingold Ad Says He Fought Insurers.” The New York Times 4 Oct. 2010. 4 Oct. 2010 <http:// thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/feingold-ad-says-he-fought-insurers/?scp=3&sq=Obama's health care reform&st=cse>.

This article shows Wisconsin’s Senator, Russ Feingold positive support towards president Obama’s health care bill.  Throughout his political career, he has been fighting insurance companies to guarantee access to coverage for all Wisconsin children with pre-existing conditions.

Rangel, Congressman Charles. "Health care reform: Benefit to all Americans." New York Amsterdam News 101.13 (2010): 12-28. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 6 Oct. 2010.

In this article the author discusses various benefits that the new health care reform bill will bring to all citizens in the U.S. More than 60,000 young adults up to age 26 will now be given the eligibility for coverage under their parents' insurance plans. Small businesses with 100 employees or less will be able to join the health insurance exchange through the new legislation.

Rudiger, Anja. “ From Market Competition to Solidarity? Assessing the Prospects of US Health Care Reform Plans from a Human Rights Perspective.” Health and Human Rights 10.1(2008): 123-35. JSTOR. Web. 3 Oct. 2010.

This academic journal points out how dysfunctional and debated the health care in the United Sates truly is. The author also states that if the government fails to develop a health care system that guarantees equal access to everyone, they will be denying citizens the human rights to health and health care.

- As stated in my first blog entry, I am going to upload a paper I did for my U.S Power and Politics class on how Obama won the 2008 presidential election. I have decided to search in depth some of President Obama accomplishments. The one the topic that I have decided to focus on is 'Obamacare' also known as Obama's health care reform. I would like to research it's positive and negative affects upon the American nation.