The Great Health Reform Debate Introduction

 So if you do not listen to the radio, watch the news, or listen to other people gripe then you might not have heard about the great health reform debate that is taking place. According to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention in 2008 17% of America's population under the age of 65 did not have health insurance and 65% had private insurance. These numbers do not seem terrible, but would it not be great to have every American's health care covered?  The problem today is that private insurance prices are starting to spiral upward increasing until its nearly unaffordable.  Asa result our number of 65% privately insured will decrease and our 17% completely uninsured will increase drastically.  Employers today are in a money runch with raised insurance prices and are having to increase the amount employers pay, cut back on benefits, or cut coverage all together.  Individuals who are do not or no longer recieve benefits from work are now realizing that trying to buy their own policy is nearly impossible due to pricing and some companys will not sell them a policy.  As a result of this crazy spiral in increasing prices our uninsured population will continue to rise and this is where the debate comes in.

        What will work? What health system will be unflawed? Should we copy Canada? So many questions are asked and unanswered as The United States Department of Health is trying to find solutions to make health care affordable, insurance affordable, and to better the overall health of the United States.  The Secretary of the US Health Department states,"Today, Americans spend more on health care than any other country in the world, yet we don’t live longer." (Full Statement) Children today may live shorter lives than that of their parents, which says a great deal about America's health.  So what are the problems here? First off the US health status is much lower than it should be, health care is extremely exspensive as well as the insurance to cover it, there is not enough critical preventative measures being taken to prevent our next generation's health status to decrease, and there is not enough money to go around.  There are many more detailed issues with health care today, but we will explore those further as time goes on. 

    So what are we doing about it? The government (US Health Department and President Obama) is working together to find a solution that will cover the problems we are facing. For the sake of keeping this just an introduction and not putting you to sleep we will discuss the ideas that have been presented later. So as we wait for a solution to be put in place, what are we Americans doing? Some are still keeping their private insurance or are paying the higher shared pay at work. Some are lucky enough to still have coverage from their employer such as myself [as a college student I still receive my Father’s benefits]. Others are not so lucky. Some simply avoid going to a doctor, which sometimes is fine and their health concern goes away, or it can get much worse and in the end cost much more. Others seek Alternative forms of medicine which is another thing we will discuss here.


Alternative forms of medicine can include acupressure, acupuncture, supplements, vitamins, herbal remedies and the list is endless. In 2007 Americans spent nearly 33.9 billion dollars on complementary or alternative medicines according to the CDC.  That is a great deal of money spent on something other than a doctor.  Alternative medicines can be argued numerous ways on whether they are effective or not, but the problem with some of these alternatives is that they are not FDA approved.  Many vitamins and supplements are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration which has its approval to assure consumers that proper testing has been completed, information on the product is correct and displayed for the consumer, and that it is simply safe to consume. 

   The Health Reform Debate is an important subject that indirectly or directly effects everyone so its an important thing to familiarize yourself with.  As the debate continues we will continue to wait and in turn do what we can to try and keep ourselves healthy.  Stay tuned in for our next discussion on the GREAT HEALTH REFORM DEBATE and what we're doing about it.