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.

Student Health Coverage

Allowing for further tax credits and being more open to the idea of personal health savings accounts so students can save in order to provide their own health insurance may be the answer for any student who is not sure how they are going to get the proper health care as they are away at school. Tax credits for employees that reach up to five thousand dollars a year have been proposed. It is hard to tell whether such a proposal would get any where and what exactly the impact of such a plan would be for students. The HCTC is already out there on the table and that is something that helps many parents be able to provide quality health care to their student children as they are off getting their education. The truth is that many larger universities already have a student health insurance plan and use that as part of the calculation to come up with your entire health insurance costs.

A misconception out there is that many of the clinicians who work at a university clinic are either rookies in the health care profession or otherwise don’t know what they are talking about. The truth is that many of these physicians are qualified and have seen all kinds of situations that prepare them and give them the necessary experience to provide the best possible health care they can while on campus.

If you are uncomfortable with the university clinic companies like Assurant and Cardinal Healthcare offer students a plan, if they are self employed and have a solid work history and a clean bill of health. Most innovative students become self employed while meeting with roommates or others on campus. A problem, however, is that self employed people don’t find time to search for right health care plan.

When you add the school work load on top of a self employed individuals responsibilities, this is an even greater issue. Many students are so over worded that they do not get proper sleep and continue to put off a doctors visit. This can be dangerous if a true medical issue is involved and not caught in time.

The health care industry is working to make the process of finding health care less time consumes and more accessible for all students who work, not just ones that are self employed.