The Overhaul of Healthcare Crisis

The following address was delivered by former US President Barack Obama on Friday, January 16, 2017 at a stakeholder briefing beginning at 9 a.m. Obama was speaking to a gathering of doctors because they are one of the important parties and their professional judgment could be important for the effectiveness of the Affordable Care Act. His goal was to explain to the Trump administration the significance of the Act and the positive changes it brought about during his time in office. He also hoped to show that Obamacare is a significant accomplishment and a force for change. The speech also encouraged medical practitioners to participate actively in state matters that concern their sector and give expert advice to the new administration. The speech is as follows:

“It is an honor to stand before you today as we discuss this important theme of the milestones of the Affordable Care Act that my administration implemented. Indeed, the Obama care, as you famously refer to it, provided the best health insurance for most people in the lower social class who could not afford it previously. While the new administration has come in, it is important to strategize a smooth transition if the Affordable Care Act will be changed or replaced. For this reason, I urge the Trump administration to come up with a discernible plan to replace the Affordable Care Act before commencing to dismantle it.

As medical practitioners, I believe you will agree with me that healthcare insurance is instrumental for all citizens, including those who hold high social classes, those in the middle class and those aiming at stepping into the middle class. It is the responsibility of every citizen to vet his or her leaders based on performance. At the same time, the leaders must demonstrate competence through overseeing proper policy formulation and implementation. While Donald Trump’s presidency has been on point regarding its cryptic alteration of most state laws, I would say change is inevitable the move might be a beneficial mandate for the Americans. However, it is vital to consider the implications of such moves on the middle and low class. Such moves would suffocate the low-class individuals who cannot afford health insurance. Statistics have shown that implementation of Trump’s Healthcare plan could strip over 14 million Americans their health insurance. Therefore, you as healthcare specialists, I encourage you to scrutinize the new plan and offer advice so that such new plan could perform well, just as our Affordable Care Act did while I was still the President.

From what we see, it is possible that the federal government would begin dismantling the Affordable Care Act without the approval of the Congress. I wonder if America is still being guided by law because there are systematic guidelines that must be followed when an Act has to be changed or replaced. This approach would be an explicit determination to enslave the country’s low class in their incapacities. I will say again that while change is necessary, it must be guided and planned properly to ensure smooth transitions. Otherwise hasty decisions would result in the adoption of shortcuts without following proper legal and institutional frameworks those were instituted by our forefathers. At this point, the association of the rhetoric and the real situation implies that the government perhaps does not consider the low-class people’s immediate health care interests in this process of dismantling the Obama care.

From my observation, Donald Trump could be trying to craft his legacy at a pace that would be detrimental to the state. In fact, the overhaul of the healthcare system is a disastrous crisis for the country. The healthcare system is one of the essential initiatives that maintain the certainty of well-being among the citizens. Well, the current administration’s individual mandate program has not been put to public scrutiny yet. However, it is not prudent to dismantle the Obama care unless the individual mandate program has been fully implemented. Eventually, this situation leaves many people uncertain about the situation of the country’s healthcare for the next five years. A good political regime, a concerned leadership, and a serious administration must engage all relevant stakeholders in resolving to implement any significant policy such as it regards to healthcare.

Finally, I request that all of you as experts in the healthcare sector should involve yourself actively in state matters that concern your sector. The Trump administration needs you to give suggestions on how to streamline the healthcare sector with the demands of every citizen. It is very problematic to sit and watch as your country suffers at the expense of hasty and uniformed decisions. You have unions and groups in your professions; use them to make America a better and healthy state. Otherwise, whom do you want to do this if not you? As I complete my speech, I commend for the good work you did in the implementation of the Obama-care, our success is attributed to you. God bless you and the United States of America. Thank you.”

RIP Essay

It is no doubt that the former President of the US, Barack Obama, is an exceptional rhetorical orator. When addressing the medical practitioners at a stakeholder briefing event, he engages the audience through rhetoric devices such as questions to allow the audience flow with him and understand the context of their role in the country. Indeed, Obama puts a sense of belonging and worth when he addresses the medical practitioners as experts. While this is a good way of acknowledging the audience, it puts their trust in the speaker and makes them want to listen more. Further, he states that healthcare practitioners are a very vital group of society that must be consulted in all matters that relate to state and health. Such approach that Obama used helped to win his audience’s attention even better.

To show his zeal for the American people, Obama takes an orientation that sides with the people. For example, he focused on addressing the plight of the low class that the new Trump’s health care plan would bring. His arguments are backed by research, for example, when he said that the new plan could lead over 14 million Americans to lose their health insurance covers, many analysts such as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) as well made such observation. Presentation of factual arguments is an important rhetoric that proves the speaker is well organized. This observation helps in the presentation of Obama care as a better option while the new plan by President Donald Trump as a very bad move by the new government.

At the same time, Obama encourages the medical practitioners to take active roles in advising the new government of the implications that the new plan would bring. It is notable that the Trump administration was making hasty decisions without adequate consultation with relevant stakeholders, medical practitioners being among them. Again, such presentation of the significance of the audience in the subject matter is crucial in not only winning their attention but also their support. Recently, it has been found out that most medical practitioners rejected the new plan given the consequential outcomes associated with it. An article by Susan Cornwell and Yasmeen Abutaleb in the Independent magazine supports that indeed medical providers are against the government’s move to ratify the new healthcare plan.

The Audience

The speech was effective because its presentation was not only rhetoric but also the targeted audience was specific. While matters concerning health care affect everyone in a state, medical practitioners for a significant group that can help in shaping policy to better the healthcare system. The positive views of the audience regarding the speech could be observed through actions such as clapping, nodding their heads and many applauses whenever the speaker mentioned important points on the matter at hand. Also, a probable indication that the use of rhetoric created the expected impression among the audience; the contemplation of whether the Donald Trump administration’s actions regarding health care would cause a negative or positive impact on the health of the American population. Further, the speech moved most members of the audience to feel in support of the speaker and feel obligated to take action.

The Historical/Cultural Context

Before the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, most people in the lower social class whether republicans or democrats were unable to afford a health insurance. For this reason, these individuals were susceptible to health conditions that could be managed with health insurance coverage. However, the introduction of the Affordable Care Act brought hope to most of these people who could not initially afford health insurance (Center for Disease Control 1). The Obama care made a great impact on the country’s record of insurance cover although it compromised some other sectors. For many years, the country has fought to provide the citizens with an affordable way to insure their health. Perhaps Donald Trump’s administration would be the one rewriting history. However, it remains uncertain to many on whether he is making a positive impression or a negative outcome. From the point of view by most medical practitioners as stated in the Independent, the plan would lead to more problems compared to the Obama Care. This paradox of interest has been common in the US political arena as well as in the sectoral policy formulation and implementation for years. Such context continues to leave the citizens in the dark because each side presents their facts and the majority would win.

The Purpose of the RIP and the Genre of Awareness Speech

The purpose of the RIP was to create awareness create more awareness through talking to medical practitioners as an important group of stakeholders in healthcare. Presentation of facts on the achievements of Obama care and the perils associated with the new Trump’s plan would shed light on the actual problems that people face and move them to take part in contributing towards a better healthcare system. Awareness speech helps members of the public and the medical practitioners in this context to comprehend issues that happen around them through the insight provided during the speech and encourage them to address such issues collectively. It is clear that the public opinion might not be relevant in cases where the president provides an executive order regarding the subject. However, the power of information and ability to make decisions based on the expected outcomes of an incident is crucial.

Self – Reflection

It is evident that there are many ways for effective delivery of speech to ensure one captures the audience’s attention. Some of the successes that Obama achieved on that day included emotional engagement of the audience. Given that the audience was specific, medical practitioners, it was easy for him to narrow down his content and address specific issues pertinent to the state and the audience as well. The choice of the time of address was quite good. It was in the morning and perhaps most of the audience came prepared for the day. Stakeholder briefing in the morning would mean the target audience comes prepared, undisturbed by most things that could otherwise be the case if the speech was given in the afternoon. On the contrary, if such even were held in the evening, it would have more impact because at that time most of the people are through with their day-to-day activities. Most would be more settled since worries that could come from time constraints and inability to complete their work after the speech would not be felt.

Regarding the content of the speech, it is arguable that the government’s step to dismantle the healthcare system is a mistake. However, doubt does not revolve around the fact that the current administration is incapable of delivering a working healthcare system. It is rather based on the fact that the members of the public require insurances that the next system would not compromise their current healthcare privileges. Also, it is certain that awareness speech enlightened many members of the audience on the subject.

Furthermore, addressing some of the controversial issues that are aligned with the alterations in the healthcare system is one of the major problems in the current context of the US. It is essential for the people to understand the implications of the actions taken by the government on main sectors of the country’s sustainability such as healthcare. Perhaps, the speech creates a mental picture in the mind of the members of the public regarding the situation of the country’s healthcare in the future. It is clear that the government does not have a complete proposal to replace the current Obama care program (Kliff 1). From the speech, individuals can see that most people who cannot afford health insurance will experience difficulties in accessing efficient health care services. Additionally, it is necessary for citizens to show the government that they are concerned about the progress of most sectors in the country under the new administration (Amadeo 1). It would be prudent for the current administration to embrace expert opinion to move forward with most of its plans to ensure that it does not disrupt the stability created by the previous administration.

Works Cited

Amadeo, Kimberly. “Benefits of Obamacare: Advantages of the ACA.” U.S Economy, www.thebalance.com/benefits-of-obamacare-advantages-of-the-aca-3306066. Accessed 19 March 2017.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Fact Sheet, 2011. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011

Diamond, Dan. & Haberkorn, Jennifer. “Trump Administration Weighs Obamacare Changes Sought by Insurers. Politico, www.politico.com/story/2017/02/trump-obamacare-insurance-companies-234707. Accessed 19 March 2017.

Kliff, Sarah. Trump’s Executive Order on Obamacare, Explained by Two Health Policy Experts. Vox, www.vox.com/2017/1/20/14343332/trump-obamacare-executive-order. Accessed 19 March 2017.