Health care reform is important. Health care reform is controversial. Proponents of health care reform think it’s necessary to ensure American remains prosperous. Many citizens and politicians are opponents of health care reform, citing that it will burden taxpayers and will lead to more governmental waste.
Today, the House of Representatives is voting on their bill. If the bill passes, the Senate will vote on the bill after the first of the year. If the bill doesn’t pass, health care reform will remain a question mark.
What strikes me as odd about the argument of health care reform isn’t the fact that the government is trying to pass a satisfactory bill. What strikes me as odd is that politicians – both Democrats and Republicans alike – are more concerned with each party’s individual agenda than the good of American people. American people have spoken out against the bill, so legislators need to be looking at ways to make health care reform beneficial for Americans.
How could they do that? For starters, they could work with pharmaceutical companies to set reasonable prices on prescription drugs. Currently, Americans pay for all the pharmaceutical company’s R&D costs. Canadian citizens and those throughout the world don’t share those costs.
Second, the administration could start to take measures to cut Medicare and Medicaid waste and fraud. This would save millions of dollars that could be set aside to subsidize any further health care reforms.
Third, legislators could pass laws that make it illegal for insurance companies to drop individuals because of pre-existing conditions or because of extensive medical costs. This will ensure that those that can afford health care have access to it, despite their current health conditions.
Universal health care is a great theory. However, our current environment doesn’t allow for a sensible option. Making cost-saving changes and setting up a better environment to make sure that Americans stay healthy is what is important.
