Health care was one of the pivotal issues that President Obama was elected on. The health care in this country is riddled with problems - most notably that more money is spent per person on health care than any other country in the world. These massively excessive costs are representative of a larger and larger percentage of our country's economy each year, but still leave about 45 million Americans, or 15 percent of the population, without any health coverage.
Health care reform has been the objective of more than one Democratic president, but for various reasons none have seemed to succeed. Clinton came close, but the aggressive nature in which the White House undertook the complexities of health care reform made Congress feel alienated from the legislating process. And as a result they killed it. In 2008, Obama campaigned on bringing much needed health care reform to the country. Obama's administration is attempting a different tactic than Clinton did in the '90s.
The Obama administration left the bill drafting to Congress. The idea was to let Congress put together the ideas, and then the administration would choose the best one. But, when the health care debate really started rolling this past summer, it looked as though this tactic might fail.
The debate centered on illogical arguments and scare tactics instead of actual solutions to the problem. Rumors of death panels and socialism dominated town hall meetings, and even when Obama directly addressed Congress on the issue of health care reform he was met with the shout of "You lie!" by a Republican congressman.
It truly looked as though the founding fathers intention that all voices in a debate be heard so that the best ideas will surface was failing. This is because the good ideas, by either party, were being drowned out by the loud and ludicrous shouts of those who did not wish to see any health care reform at all (something that all health and economic experts will agree is not an option for our country). However, after months of scare tactics and intense lobbying by the opposition, it seems that the health care reform we desperately need is finally taking shape.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Monday that there would be a government-run public option included in the Senate's version of the health bill. There is already a public option in the House's version. For those of us who truly want health care reform and want reform that doesn't just give more power to the health care companies, but actually helps the Americans who need it, this is tremendous news. A public government health option will level the playing field and encourage competition.
Currently, some states are insured almost entirely by one company. Blue Cross owns 83 percent of the market in Alabama, for example. That is not the way the free market system is designed - that is a monopoly. Contrary to popular belief, a government option would not be a step toward socialism, but would be more in line with capitalism as it would serve to compete with other companies and force the industry as a whole to be more efficient and affordable. The government option is not a mandate; it's an option, and choice is necessary for health care reform to work.
But, don't get too excited over Reid's announcement that the public option is in. The lobbyists for health insurance corporations are still hard at work to convince us that choice is not what we want. The bill is far from passing, as it still would need a committed 60 votes to be filibuster proof, and supporting senators are dropping by the wayside. Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, from my home state of Connecticut, sadly has said he will not vote for the bill, and it looks right now that there is no Republican support.
However, this is not about partisanship. It's not about Obama. And to a large extent it's not about most of us who are satisfied with affordable, flexible health insurance. It's about those among us who literally cannot afford to get sick and even those with insurance plans that are too costly or inflexible. It's about those who would lose everything if they were to contract a serious illness because they can't afford treatment.
The system needs to change, and we have to make sure our representatives know that. If the public option fails, in large part, health care reform fails, and the health insurance companies win. To see the real effects of our poor health care system, go to www.NamesoftheDead.com - a Web site set up by Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson - and read the names of those who could not wait any longer for our country to change. The public option is the means to that change. Let's make it happen.
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