In the 1980 presidential debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, one critical issue was brought up — health care. The same issue has highlighted every debate ever since. Every president-elect continues to promise a health care reform, one that would be affordable and practicable for Americans.
One question, what is so complicated about health care reform that keeps us from moving forward, but instead moves us backward? The answer is that America’s deficit seems to be on an incremental climb after each president leaves. The question Reagan asked his audience that night was, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
With unemployment rates as high as they are, health care is one “luxury” people cannot seem to afford, according to lawmakers. Private insurance companies are not helping issues. It seems they care less about their customers and more about the money they get from them.
So what happens to the unemployed 48-year-old man who cannot afford privatized health care? Answer — nothing healthy. He cannot afford his insurance bills so he is cut off. The solution would be to have the government intervene; have the government become competition for privatized health care.
This is not a socialist way of thinking, where the government controls hospitals and insurance, but rather allowing government-run health insurance to compete with private insurance companies. Why? The current system just isn’t working. This is not to eliminate private insurance, but would give people who cannot afford private health care an alternative.
The reasons and fears that conservatives share as to why there should not be government-run health insurance are understandable. Conservatives oppose such a plan because they fear that someday the government will totally wipe out private insurance companies and may create a socialist system of health care.
They also fear that setting up government-run health care will take away the right for doctors and patients to choose what health insurance to use. This is understandable but the reality is none of that will happen.
Government-run health insurance will lower the costs of health care for the working class. Medicaid only helps low-income people and rarely benefits the working class. Private insurance helps the middle-class and above.
Having a national program will make health care available to the millions of Americans who are not covered. More importantly, it will give private health insurance companies competition so that they too can lower their prices.
Such a plan would not force those who are already insured to give up their insurance plans, but would give families a chance for affordable health care. The result of all of this would lead to a healthier country — one that still understands how to balance capitalism with the needs of its people.
Uzo Umeh is a nursing major and a contributing writer for the Daily Forty-Niner.
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