Health care reform has consumed the nation’s attention during the past couple of months. It is a constant on the 24-hour cable news cycle and has consumed the U.S. Congress in bitter debate.
As evidence of the urgency surrounding the issue, President Barack Obama appeared on five Sunday morning talk shows, including “This Week,” “Face the Nation” and “Meet the Press,” to sell his health care proposal.
America’s largest insurance corporations, the American Medical Association (the largest association of physicians in the United States), lawmakers and lobbyists of every sort have passionately debated many of the same issues that derailed President Bill Clinton’s administration.
The national health care debate has many different players and just as many arguments, but most people have come to the consensus that ballooning health care inflation is unsustainable.
The system needs some changes, the degree and extent of those changes is arguable, but it needs change nonetheless.
The U.S. spends more than $7,000 per person per year on health coverage and is no healthier for it, ranking only 37th amongst other nations in aggregate health comparisons. Surely, there is some combination of highly specialized medicine, preventive care and basic medicine that can satisfy a diverse and independent populace.
The fundamental issue is that America suffers from an appalling lack of health when compared to its prosperity. This is an issue that affects every single student. Even if your parents cover you now, eventually you will have to manage your own coverage.
The discussions regarding the purchase of out-of-state policies, a single-payer system, computerized medical records and care rationing are existent and will affect you for the rest of your life.
The contentious nature of health care reform has turned what should be a calm and reasoned debate into a screaming match between the left and the right. Not only is this counter-productive, it stymies any chance of unity and a collective solution to what is most definitely a shared problem.
Rising health care costs are not just the problem of the old, they affect students as well as faculty and staff. Everyone will inevitably see rising costs and reduced benefits if this potent fire goes untamed.
Radicals must stop the half-truths about death panels and the redistribution of wealth and use that passion towards advancing the cause of balanced platforms.
The health care debate is complicated and certainly multi-faceted, but to ignore it as another generation’s problem is negligent and irresponsible.
This is an issue for students, perhaps even more so than it is for seniors and baby boomers. Take the time to educate yourself on the issue and, at the very least, have an opinion — your health, and that of your family, relies on it.
