Why should we care about health-care?
Phillip Fairbrother
Issue date: 11/11/09 Section: Opinion
Why should we care about health-care? As college students, we study hard so that we can start a career and provide for ourselves and for our families. And it isn't just about money either. Of course one of the main factors in choosing a job is what the pay is, but health-care benefits are an important part of the decision too.
What about those who work for companies that don't offer health insurance? Don't these people deserve the opportunity to receive health-care as well?
President Barack Obama has been an obvious advocate of a health care bill that was recently passed by the House of Representatives. There have been horror stories about socialized medicine, and some question as to whether or not the government should involve itself.
After reading through summaries of the bill and what it supposedly will do for our country, I feel like I'm under qualified to make any assumptions as to whether or not it will really help. What I do know is that it will put our country even further into debt, and it certainly will increase government involvement in our lives.
The fact of the matter remains though. Something has to be done about our current health-care system.
According to a Harvard study that was published online in the American Journal of Medicine, medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in America. More than 2 million Americans are affected by these bankruptcies annually. In 2007, medical problems were cited as the reason for 62% of all personal bankruptcy cases.
"Unless you're Bill Gates you're just one serious illness away from bankruptcy," says Dr. David Himmelstein, the lead author of the study and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard, in a quote from the website ConsumerAffairs.com. "Most of the medically bankrupt were average Americans who happened to get sick."
One truly disturbing fact is that many Americans that file for bankruptcy because of medical bills were covered by health insurance before they became sick. Between high deductibles and legal loopholes, the public is stuck with the bill despite paying for their health insurance on a regular basis.
What about those who work for companies that don't offer health insurance? Don't these people deserve the opportunity to receive health-care as well?
President Barack Obama has been an obvious advocate of a health care bill that was recently passed by the House of Representatives. There have been horror stories about socialized medicine, and some question as to whether or not the government should involve itself.
After reading through summaries of the bill and what it supposedly will do for our country, I feel like I'm under qualified to make any assumptions as to whether or not it will really help. What I do know is that it will put our country even further into debt, and it certainly will increase government involvement in our lives.
The fact of the matter remains though. Something has to be done about our current health-care system.
According to a Harvard study that was published online in the American Journal of Medicine, medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in America. More than 2 million Americans are affected by these bankruptcies annually. In 2007, medical problems were cited as the reason for 62% of all personal bankruptcy cases.
"Unless you're Bill Gates you're just one serious illness away from bankruptcy," says Dr. David Himmelstein, the lead author of the study and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard, in a quote from the website ConsumerAffairs.com. "Most of the medically bankrupt were average Americans who happened to get sick."
One truly disturbing fact is that many Americans that file for bankruptcy because of medical bills were covered by health insurance before they became sick. Between high deductibles and legal loopholes, the public is stuck with the bill despite paying for their health insurance on a regular basis.
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