Healthcare Reform Detailed in Congress

Democrats have proposed a complete overhaul of the nations health care system, but Republicans are not so quick to jump on board. Mostly because they feel that it will not only cost the country too much money, but will limit freedom of choice for most Americans.

The Republican party has recently jumped into the healthcare reform debate with a proposal called the Patients Choice Act. This would provide a tax credit to allow for an individual to be able to purchase health insurance in more competitive private plans. They seek to balance the Democratic ideals for reform which they claim might cause a restriction of job creation thus restricting economic growth.

Legislation to reduce health care expenses and making insurance more accessible is what President Obama has asked from the Congress. He, along with other Democrats, desires health insurance coverage for all uninsured folks and increased competition for the private insurance corporations.

There is contentious discussion amongst the parties regarding details but both have some common ground as all realize there has to be a change. The similarities are creation of insurance exchanges which creates comparison based shopping for insurance plans. Also, both parties want to see more emphasis of expenses put toward prevantable diseases, trying to correct it before it becomes a more expensive problem.

Congressional leaders hope to pass some sort of health care reform over the summer months. They vow that no matter how the plan is written it will help more Americans afford the health care that they desperately need.

Government Health Care, An Option Or A Necessity

The issue of health care is something that is on the minds of many Americans. While the government wrestles with the idea of a nationalized health plan, there are many who think that this will limit choices and the competitive health care industry. Unfortunately, when you look at the other options there really aren’t any. There are many who believe that this is not necessary; however, it is important to understand that we all pay to get these people health care one way or another.

There are over 45 million people in this country who had no insurance in 2005. Many of those will pay their bills to the best of their ability, the other 43 million spent for those people will be broken down in these categories. Government programs will take care of a third, and what’s left is handled with higher premiums for those people who do have health insurance.

Looking at this a person would think that their medical outflow would be less than if there were a federal plan to pay for. The reality may be different than this thought process, what if a person enters the emergency room, they have a ruptured blood vessel their brain and this is causing internal bleeding. The medical staff there will do everything they can do to keep her alive, but in the end she dies anyhow. The family answers questions from the hospital who are trying to determine the story, they discover Mary had high blood pressure but had to choose between her meds and food for her family. If she had had the medication she more than likely wouldn’t have been in this situation. The cost of trying to treat and ultimately trying to save her life in those few hours is very expensive compare to what a annual cost of the medication would’ve been.

This is a story where no one profits. Everyone will be paying for this scenario Mary went through in the emergency room. There were many hours spent by the medical staff even when the picture looked grim. An in the end, Mary’s children are left with no mother.

When you look at a scenario like this, isnt it just a better choice to help Mary pay for that high blood pressure medication?