Suffice to say that the last quarter of the year 2017 and the beginning of 2018 was full of controversies for the Trump administration. When the controversial US Tax Bill was proposed and approved by the Congress it seems that decision put more tax burden on the average, middle-class earners while the giant corporations and companies in America enjoy the lower tax cut. This has enabled the giant companies and corporations to earn more money and profit since they don’t have to pay hefty amounts of tax.
However, this controversial Tax Bill was just the tip of the iceberg. What enraged most Americans was the budget cut for Healthcare and the CHIP . The healthcare and insurance program of the US government is what keeps every American citizen healthy and if our health is compromised, it diminishes every person’s well-being and affects our performance and productivity.
This, in turn, will create ripple effect that may affect the economy of the country. Aside from that, it leaves the country vulnerable to diseases because people aren’t able to afford the immunizations, vaccines, and medications anymore. That’s why along with the Budget Cut, the Americans cannot help but inquire the most critical health issues emerging with the new moves.
Will CDC Be Affected Greatly by the Budget Cut?
The answer to this should be obvious by now. But if you haven’t already, the CDC just stopped its overseas medical operations and program by 80% because of the budget cut. That means that the medical experts and professionals may have to stop their medical experiments and study when it comes to deadly diseases like Zika and Ebola virus, which may leave the Americans vulnerable to foreign diseases and epidemics. Aside from that, the department had also started downsizing its human resource because of the budget cut.
What Happens to Anti-Drugs Office Campaign?
Drug Rehabilitation Centers Oppose the Budget Cut on Anti Drug Office
Because of the budget cut in Healthcare, reports have started coming around that the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is also affected. In fact, Politico had reported that it will move two of its major grants and get absorbed to different departments in order to minimize its spending due to budget cut. This recent movement was heavily criticized by rehabilitation organizations against addiction because this would jeopardize the well-being and recovery of the rehabilitated patients. If the budget is to be reduced, they won’t be able to provide the complete rehabilitation program needed by a patient in order to overcome drug addiction. It will also affect the drug operations of the enforcement agency which may lead to an opioid epidemic.
How will the Legislators and the Drug Industry Respond to President Trump’s Proposal for Affordable Drug Price?
In order to neutralize the effects of the budget cut, President Trump had said that he aims to lower the price of drug prescriptions in medicines so that even the señior citizens of Medicare can afford buying their medications. President Trump also promised to give generous discounts when it comes to purchasing medications and make generic drug products available to the public at an affordable rate. This will ensure that even the low-income earners will still be able to afford it.
Trump Has Yet to Fulfill His Promise to Lower Down Drug Prescription and Medication Prices
Moreover, Trump wants the giant drug companies to compensate for their negligence and insane high medical drug prices. While this proposal seemed to gain a positive feedback from the public, however, the people are still hesitant because this have yet to happen. President Trump still hasn’t made any actions in order to implement its promise in battling against high costs in medicine and penalizing the giant drug and pharmaceutical companies.
Will the NIH also be Affected by the budget cut?
Lawmakers Assured that NIH Won’t Receive Budget Cut
Whether or not you’re a Republican or a Democrat, we all love the National Institute for Health. This health institution takes care of America’s health and wellbeing. However, Trump proposed on cutting their budget by around $5.8 billion which has been the lowest during the last 15 years. Now, Americans are worried that the accelerated research and medical experiments conducted on treating Cancer and other chronic illnesses such as Diabetes, Kidney Failure, Alzheimer’s Disease, among other will also cease. However, the lawmakers were quick to reassure us that they will deny such budget cut proposal since they acknowledge the importance of NIH. This is America’s health investment and they believe that everybody will benefit out of it in the future.
