Dear Editor,
The decision by the US Supreme Court to uphold the controversial health care law championed by President Barack Obama has taken by surprise many Americans, in particular Republicans, who felt disappointed that the law was not struck down in what was perceived to be a predominantly pro-Republican Supreme Court.
The ruling also has implications in terms of the role of the judiciary in the interpretation and pronouncement on laws passed by Congress (in our case Parliament) where parties could seek recourse to judicial intervention should they feel aggrieved.
The narrow 5-4 ruling was a clear victory for Obama who hailed the decision as a victory for the American people, in particular those in the low income bracket who are more vulnerable to risks associated with the prevailing high cost for medical treatment. In fact the United States rank low among countries of the developed world in terms of health care coverage.
Countries with much lower per capita income do much better in terms of free medical care for their citizens, including Guyana where health care is accessible to all Guyanese free of cost.
President Obama has created history for being the first president to introduce such legislation, something past presidents have sought unsuccessfully to do for over six decades. Popularly known as ‘Obamacare‘ the Affordable Care Act passed by the Democrats in 2010 has become a subject of much controversy, especially in this election year with Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney vowing to repeal the act should he be elected as the next president in elections due in November this year.
The current PPP/C administration deserves credit for investing billions of dollars in free health care and also in the delivery of quality education.
The recent results of the Grade Six Assessment have demonstrated that the spread of quality education has become much more equitable and is no longer skewed in favour of a few city schools as was hitherto the case.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
