Health Care debate

We are hearing a lot about the health care debate all over the media, and there is a lot of pessimism out there. We need to step outside of the fray and look at what is really important in this debate, the people (us!). My family has had its share of strife due to the health care issue, namely when my father had a heart attack 9 years ago. My mother had "good" insurance through the State of Ohio and it didn't matter - little more than two years later they had to declare bankruptcy. The bankruptcy process cost them the only house they ever bought, the house I grew up in - so much for the so-called American Dream. Now years later, they are living in a rental house and still struggling to make ends meet with more bills due to my father's continuing health difficulties.

What I look for as a solution in Obama's health care proposal is a promise that other families will not have to lose their home and/or life's savings just because even with insurance coverage you are never fully insured. The Republicans are completely missing this with their plan that would offer tax credits for families to purchase insurance. The seems to be against everything they've been talking about as of late when it comes to the bailout, this would merely be a huge government sponsored payout to the insurance companies. As well, what would keep costs low in this plan? It would be nice to see a plan that actually benefits the people instead of big business.

I don't have all the answers for this, but here are just some suggestions for ways to truly fix the system - especially since the fear mongers have gotten single payer removed from the table:

1.) A true public option - What we've been talking about, a Medicare-type system that leverages its size to negotiate the lowest prices possible.

2.) R&D - We spend billions on R&D for defense projects, why can't we do the same when it comes to pharmaceuticals? Even if we had a government agency that made generic pharmaceuticals and removed the profit from the health care system it would be an improvement.

3.) Make hospitals non-profits - The large hospital systems are big business in a lot of communities, which causes unnecessary tests and procedures and ever raising costs.

Those are the basics in my opinion, but only one of the three is ever even discussed. We need to make a decide as a society if health care is a fundamental right, if so we need to act accordingly. Sphere: Related Content