My Thoughts on Health Care

Ever since the time of FDR, Democrats have been trying to overhaul the United State’s broken health care system. This has been quite difficult due to major Republican opposition, but when Obama entered office last year he was determined to push the reform through. Health care is currently one of the most controversial and widely debated topics and has created a large amount of heated debate throughout congress. On Nov. 7, the House approved an overhaul of the nation's health care system while the Senate passed an $871 billion bill on Dec. 24. The two houses must now go into a conference committee to combine their two measures. This shall cause even further debate due to the fact that there is a major difference between the two measures. The House bill contains a government-run insurance plan (public option) while the Senate bill does not.

            “The bills would expand coverage by making more lower-income people eligible for Medicaid, and by offering subsidies to help moderate-income people buy insurance. They would forbid insurance companies from denying coverage of pre-existing conditions, and would create insurance exchanges -- new government-regulated marketplaces where individuals and small businesses could come together to buy coverage. The 160 million Americans who get their coverage through their employer would stay with that insurance. Nearly everyone would be required to get insurance or face a penalty, and businesses would be required to provide coverage or contribute to its cost.” (New York Times article on Health Care Reform)

            While many Democrats are quite passionate about health care, almost all Republicans are strongly against it. They see the bills as a giant expansion of government that will prove unaffordable. They also fear that a public option will interfere with the current system of insurance by creating insurmountable competition. Personally I see that last part as ridiculous. The public option is going to be quite minimal due to the fact that the government has like no money and the point of the option is for people who can’t afford anything else. The public option might create minor competition but nothing more and the insurance companies need a little competition anyway. They’ve been giving the U.S. inferior products for quite some time. I am quite pro health care because I see it as a human right. There are those who say that only those who work hard should have health care but there are plenty of people who can’t find a job despite trying very hard and even some people that do work don’t have insurance. Beyond that, at a bare minimum all minors should have health care. It is not a child’s fault if their parents don’t work and denying coverage to a child that is sick could make it so that, that child never gets to grow up into a contributing member of society. In general I really don’t understand how the Republicans can be so against the bills. Pretty much ever other major country in the world has a government run health care system and most of them are doing fine. In fact they are doing a lot better than us so why do Republicans think that a public option will destroy our country or something? To all those against it I think you really need to try to put yourself in the shoes of the parent who despite working hard does not have health insurance to pay for their son’s operation. In the end, how can health care not be a human right?