미국 보수진영의 논리- 오바마정부의 의료개혁을 중심으로

Abstract

The Obama administration and the Democratic leadership narrowly passed the‘Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)’ in 2010, a milestone in Americanhistory where health care reform was on the priority list of almost all the presidentssince Franklin Roosevelt, only to fail or postpone due to the entrenched interests, thesheer complexity of any plausible reform, and increasing polarization of Americanpolitics. After summing up main features of the ‘Affordable Care Act’ and underlyingstrategies in bringing about this historic legislation, this article turns to the argumentsfrom the antagonist. Conservative groups and the Republican Party consistentlyopposed the bill throughout the process. After the bill’s survival thanks to the 2012Supreme Court ruling and the reelection of Barack Obama in 2012 election, theycontinue their fights against its implementation at the state level. This article uncoversthree broad themes in conservative platforms against the so-called ‘Obamacare’- “American Dignity”, “Individual Choice and Freedom”, “Federalism and StateAutonomy”. Despite the technical nature of ongoing debates, these keywords helpone grasp better where the two parties and the public opinion diverge on the issueof health care reform. They will guide us in understanding the future evolution of thisunique American experience because the ‘Affordable Care Act’ was a big compromiseincorporating conservative ideas in the first place and with no feasible alternative oftheir own, the Conservative critics will no doubt fall back on these age-old ideological cleavages in American politics.