Period 5
Media Assignment
The Affordable Care Act is a revolutionary, and long awaited program being enacted in the upcoming months. There has been a lot of frenzy surrounding this topic, as many things aren't coming together exactly the way the American people were told it would. The ACA is a huge domestic news topic and will continue to be for upcoming months. The conservative outlet addressed in this paper is Fox News, a network known for not even attempting to conceal their ideology. The liberal sources are National Public Radio, a fairly even tempered and moderate source, and the Huffington Post, which is slightly more obvious about its tendency to the left.
On October 30th, Fox News ran a story on the practical effects we can expect from implementing the Affordable Care Act. The story was run on a weekday afternoon, so it was not a key news story. They quoted a poll by the New York medical association claiming that 44% of New York doctors say they will not be participating in the changes. They talked with Dr. Mark Siegel, a member of the "Fox News Medical A-Team". He addresses several issues with the realities of obamacare; especially effective we're his appeals to how it could limit the number of treatments and tests doctors can order, and how it would severely slow down the health care system. The ultimate consequence of this will be decreased quality and availability of medical care. Fox News is a very conservative outlet, so it makes sense that they are addressing the negative possibilities of this liberal social program.
National Public Radio blogged a story on the evening of October 30th concerning Obama's misleading promise of being able to keep your current insurance plan. The article explains that those who get their insurance through large employers aren't likely to see any changes but those with private, low coverage plans, could see their current plan canceled if it is not up to the minimum standards of the Affordable Care Act. The article goes on to address how the claim Obama made will affect the popularity of congressional democrats and how the republicans have jumped on this to criticize the law. The tone comes across as more informative than partisan, and although the author does try to clarify and defend the president, he also addresses the realistic concerns. NPR is a liberal news outlet, but they don't let that stop them from reporting on the facts.
The Huffington Post addressed the same issue as NPR around the same time. The article tries to explain for Obama what he meant by his claim that you would be able to keep your existing insurance plan. The article makes it seem that it is the insurance companies faults for not continuing to offer the plans that were below ACA standards. It also goes on to say that