The basics of Health Care Reform's importance

Lets look at some basic information:  America is a nation with nearly 305 million citizens with an estimated 37.5 million residents (both legal and illegal) residing here as well (1). 

According to the US census, in 2007 there were 45.7 million legal citizens (roughly 15.3%) without insurance of any kind.  As a percentage the amount of citizens utilizing government health insurance programs was nearly 28% (2).  What is interesting to note in this last statistic is that this 28% had deductibles, coverage plans, and specific primary care options.

Switching gears a bit preventative medicine has been estimated to be able to save between 82 and 161 Billion dollars (3).  The problem with this piece of information is that it doesn't take into account the amount of savings that could be realized if the 45.7 million mentioned above had access to regular medical care, not to mention the 37.5 million residents, of which a large amount aren't accounted for in the Census information and yet can be safely assumed to be primarily uncovered.  

Am I proponent of Universal health care, you could say yes.  Am I in support of the current rendition of the plan? Not entirely.  BUT something is better then nothing.  At this point most critics are arguing "why should I pay for the health insurance of someone else who doesn't provide it for themselves?"  Besides the moral obligation we have to each other there is the basic answer that you are already. 

When someone has an accident or a heart attack and requires emergency room care who do you think pays for it if they can't?  Mr. and Mrs. tax payer.  Either directly through State and Federal programs or indirectly through higher costs of medicine and hospital visits, the money has to come from somewhere.

By having a universal program we are enabling/ requiring, those who normally wouldn't have insurance to get it, either privately or through the Government.  With such a program everyone would be able to see a primary care doctor, many times costly emergency surgery can be avoided by diet changes, medication, or other preventative methods.  Having John with clogging arteries be prescribed cholesterol lowering medicine and given a regiment to follow will save money.

This article is not a end all on the debate, it merely shows why I think we need reform to require universal coverage.  Please post replies, no Nazi comments nor dining room table retorts. 

As a side note Barney Frank's greatest quote from that now famous Town Hall meeting was: "As you stand there with a picture of the President defaced to look like Hitler and compare the effort to increase health care to the Nazis my answer to you is, as I said before, it is a tribute to the first Amendment that this kind of vile contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated."  G-d bless the freedoms we so readily enjoy and yet do not appreciate enough. 


(1) Number of Immigrants Hits Record 37.5M, Washington Post 9-12-07
(2) http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthin07/hlth07asc.html
(3) http://www.newsweek.com/id/133751

Irresponsible journalism

Irresponsible journalism

I was just visiting Drudgereport, as I often do, and came across a news article highlighted in red by Matthew Drudge's editorial team:  SEPTEMBER SWOON: STOCKS OPEN DOWN...


I must say that this is just another example of what I call irresponsible journalism.  I understand that the media feeds off of sensationalism, but can there be any doubt that they cause more harm then good?  Seriously, we've had ONE day in September and they're ready to write off the entire month..

The public is already in a panic, we're in a bad economic cycle, a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan not to mention a myriad of other social issues going on.  So my point is this: Media, report the news don't try to drum it up.  A headline of "Dow has poor day as it looses 187 points" is reporting, what you have is an editorial.

There are rightful places for editorials, like blogs!, but always inform the public when you are writing your opinion versus reporting.