Obama's Future Plan for Healthcare

After seeing the Republican's plan for spending policy, the ball is now in Obama's court. The question is whether or not his pride and joy called healthcare will suffer in order to appease certain senators or voters. He has so far fulfilled his promise, but maybe not at the speed that everyone would like, which is easy to criticize when one is not in the driver seat. Jackie Calmes explains the president's intention:

The Republican plan includes a shrinking of Medicare andMedicaid and trillions of dollars in tax cuts, while sparing defense spending. Mr. Obama, by contrast, envisions a more comprehensive plan that would include tax increases for the richest taxpayers, cuts to military spending, savings in Medicare and Medicaid, and unspecified changes toSocial Security.

 This strategy will obviously anger any wealthy republicans that are funded by rich taxpayers as well as super liberals who don't want Social Security to even be a question. As for the Republicans, their numbers for how much their plan would actually save, might have been miscalculated.

Mr. Ryan said it would cut $6 trillion in the coming decade, though budget analysts questioned some of the claimed savings. The plan would turn Medicare into a voucher program for future generations and slash spending for the need-based Medicaid program and other domestic initiatives, while largely sparing the Pentagon and cutting $4 trillion more in corporate and high-income taxes.

 If used correctly, Obama can spin their plan against them, making his standing better in the upcoming election. This result will bode well for healthcare and can potentially give back some of the cuts for the future.