Obama Health Care Bill.

I found a file from Obama's website that outlines the bill. It will be helpful to put it all in perspective because it would give me an idea of the issues and what Obama is planning to do.

It starts out with the problems that the country is facing now in terms of health insurance. It outlines what they are and how it is that they plan to fix it. First, it talked about the high costs of health insurance and what that means to Americans. It says that a lot of times it is difficult to pay the ridiculously expensive co-pays and that it is a major reason why people go bankrupt! If paying for health insurance is so difficult, then it is no wonder that so many minorities are not covered. In the plan he says the government will try to make health insurance available to all through financial help.
There will be a way for every American to chose a plan that they like. Also, if they already have a plan that they are happy with, they can keep it. He says that he wants to health care system to be for the people, not just for big companies to make money off of.

I can see why there is such big debate on this because he attacks large businesses. He says that pharmaceutical companies are making too much money and he says that he is going to allow people to buy from companies from other countries if they are cheaper and also allow generic drugs to be developed so that they will be less expensive. He points out that there are two companies that really make all the drugs in this country and argues that the problems is that there is not enough competition and that these companies have created a monopoly. To aid in this, he says he wants to improve competition and pass laws to prevent the monopolies to continue.

Also, he talks about "transparency," that is the idea that hospitals and other health providers will have to tell people what their visits, medicine, and tests really cost, and how much of their co-payments go to pay for it. I think this would be helpful because over charging will most likely not occur if people can demand to see what they really should be getting charged.

There is one line in his plan that I liked. He said, "Our health care system has become a disease care system, and the time for change is well overdue. " I liked this because it has become apparent that there is a lot of emphasis on taking care of sick people, but not preventing them from becoming sick, and that is the most important thing, and is what the health system should be based on.

That being said, there is a lot of disease in the United States, which are caused by people's lifestyles (i.e. obesity, diabetes, asthma.) Obama write that it is important to make changes so that people will not end up in these positions, and as I was reading it, I thought about something that I had missed out in all of the reading that I had done before. Not only are minorities the ones who live in disadvantaged areas, and hold jobs where health insurance is not usually offered, but they are also targets for things like fast food. It is obvious to me when I go to the supermarket near my house. I work at a Natural Food Store in the Lower East Side (think Whole Foods, mom & pop style) and the produce and products that we carry are so much better than the ones that are in my Bronx supermarket's shelves. It is true that one can travel to get these, but it not easy accessible, and that's where the problem lies. There are four McDonald's at walking distance from my house, but no park to go jogging at. So not only are minorities those who have the least access to health insurance, but they are also the ones who are more susceptible to the diseases that are plaguing Americans today.

He also talks about the disparities in health coverage, my topic exactly, but only dedicates a paragraph to it. However, he does outline what the plan is in terms to making these gaps smaller, but does not detail how it would be done. The plan is to requiring hospitals to collect, analyze and report health care quality for disparity populations and holding them accountable for any differences found. How they would do that is not specified, but I will definitely look further into that. Although there was not a lot on fixing the problem with said disparities, there was a huge chunk on health insurance in small businesses and how the government would help in making it easier for them to provide workers with benefits.

Some arguments

I looked to see what people on CNN were saying. This is a talk between a few analysts who were going over the health care bill, what Democrats are or need to be doing in order to pass it and why. They point out that the chances are that the bill is going to pass. They say that this is the beginning, it’s not already set in stone, but there are going to be a lot of changes to it. That has been seen with all of the modifications that have been made to it so far, like health care involving illegal and legal immigrants for example.

That’s one of the good and bad sides of having a two party system, where one party has to fight to pass a bill, and the other fights to change it so that their needs are met also. Really, it’s all negotiation.

 

I thought it was interesting that Alex Castellanos is attacking the bill. Especially because his firm represents an association of health insurance companies-the people who probably want the bill less.

 

It’s important to look at who is talking and what their motives are for saying what they are. Politics is all about looking out for your best interest.

 

I was so happy to hear Jamal Simmons talk to Alex Castellano. He’s talking about the infectiveness of the bill but Jamal Simmons points out that yes, that’s true but there are going to be so many good things that come from it too! He’s really pointing out the effects it will have on the health of the nation, not the economy.

What's going on in Health Care Today?

Hi!

Health Care Reform. It's all over the news today, and trust me, it's confusing. Why should there be reform? and most importantly, how much is it going to cost us? 

Politicians are naming a billion reasons why the health care system should stay the way it is. I'll name a billion why it shouldn't. That’s what I want to do with this blog. I believe health care is about the people and their health- not for profit. There is a time when we all have to think if worrying so much about costs and taxes is really as important as caring for people’s health’s. Money is the most disposable thing we have, but somehow it is also the one thing we refuse to let go of.

There is a lot to be said about the system in America today. There are a lot of people who are left out of it and ignored.

One, minorities usually do not have health coverage.

Two, people in underserved areas (inner cities, rural counties) do not have health coverage.

Three, low-income workers do not have health coverage.

That is too many people.

I’m going to show you guys what Obama and Biden are saying, what people are arguing and what other people are already doing about fixing the situation.

You decide where you stand on the issue.