The Health Care Bill (ObamaCare)

Before you begin to debate whether government should or if it has a role in the health of it's citizens, it must be established first that health care and health insurance are two individual things.

While both exceptional to a degree in the U.S., they are nonetheless two sides of the same coin IE the human interest.

The one - Health Insurance designed to cover the costs of; the other - Health Care for the individual, the two are not mutually independent of one another. Therefore our examination and views of "health coverage" must encompass the value of both treating and maintaining the individual, as well as what is; or what are the costs associated with doing so?

So let's look first at the costs :

Just as with any good or service, health insurance has its value; therefore it has a cost, and in the current way we fund healthcare in America - We(the people) pay those costs.

Whether it be in conjunction with our employers, or through taxation by our government or some "fortunate/ not-so fortunate" who have and pay individually. They pay a cost - in the form of premiums - to have coverage in the event they need special care (emergency) or consultation and preventative care (maintenance). Depending on the circumstance, the cost of which can range from little or below 100$(^USD) to way above 10,000$(^USD), solely based on the needs of the patient.

This model works generally as long as people, considering the long term costs, maintain and monitor their health status - thus keeping the overall costs to the insurer down. He is after all trying to make a profit while aiding you in getting care...  and therein lies the value, I might add mutually agreed by all parties.

However a problem arises, and in the here and now the problem has arisen - that costs and value are so closely aligned that there is less profit to the insurer because of more costs he has to pay. Although, to the family of insured, the costs would seem the same (percentage wise) - the company providing the insurance which hoped to maintain a profit of (x) an unknown, now has to be willing to accept something different or begin to cut their costs; and this is how the trouble began.

 Americans and employees - paid their premiums... as costs rose they pay their copay paid their deductible, and still costs rise. So now they ask - where's the benefit?

As premiums rise - co-pays rise - deductibles are raised, but coverage remains the same or in some cases lessened or is capped. Where is the value in that? Where is the value in maintaining basic health which has become barely affordable... when in the end the "excess" costs are passed to the individual anyway. Leaving them in some cases unable to even meet the standard costs of living.

This, in a country which prides itself on being number one. (For the People, By the People)

The people bear the costs - even if they can't afford the benefit, even if kills them worrying about how to pay.

 But that's only one hand of the costs...

 The Other Hand of healthcare costs are those who provide the care we need.

The Doctors, Nurses, Lawyers... perhaps not lawyers, but the people who participate in keeping an individual healthy as well as providing care (emergency) when it's needed. These people - and their time - definitely have a value and they definitely provide a service to us. We call them caregivers but they are actually so much more than that. They are Care Providers, Care Workers, Care Employees... They are ones tasked with aiding us in making reasonable decisions on our health status. They are the ones to some degree who benefit (or should benefit )when we pay our premiums for health coverage. They are the other side of the health debate. Mainly, because they represent the costs of tending to and maintaining the individual. We pay, insurance pays - they receive the costs... to some degree.

Now insurance companies, which are allowed to make a profit, do still play a part in our care but another party from time to time interjects. That is the lawyers.  One cost which many do not associate with the rise in health care bills and premiums is the lawyers. I won't further derail this analysis other than to say... for all sides the legal implications/ protections are a growing share contributing to the rise in costs of healthcare. Nobody wants to get sued... and nobody wants to fear having to pay in the event of damages.

As i said though that is another discussion. For this health debate let's focus on our controls. The doctors and other caregivers who spend their time and talents to keep us in a healthy state, they deserve to be paid.  I think most will agree to that, and most will agree it takes a fair amount of skill and education to be a doctor particularly, but also to provide care especially event of a lengthy stay in a care facility. With this we can then (hopefully) eliminate the salary debate as part of the curse of rising health care costs. I don't believe anybody would willingly want to go to the least qualified candidate for care-giving or when in need of emergency care. So I think we can agree here that even the "expensive" specialty doctors and their "overpriced" tests in the long run can be of great value to us and our health plan, because we all want to live a long healthy life. Even though we can't all pay the costs. And the costs in most households is what drives us sickly insane.

Which directs our paths back to the profit motive and the desk of the insurance man. After all he is the one we make responsible for managing our care... both from the costs side (what we pay) and the benefit (what the caregiver tends). It is the insurance companies who interface and should allow both sides to maintain comprehensive health of the individual... all while making their profit - as long as all sides agree We are Here for The People. As in the Bill of Rights, "Promote the General Welfare"  

Unfortunately though - sometimes all sides do not agree but,

some forward thinking people saw this coming...

The Benefits of Fruits

Sweet Potatoes - Healthy Tasty & Versatile

Healthcare and Technology

The Birth of Medicare

Conservative Agreement

New Medicine and Living Well

Individual Mandates and History

Single Payer Healthcare

Given where we've been so far, with medicare now entrenched as part of the social contract of America its time to ask is there more?

When posed to the people many say, "the cost for maintaining their health has increased exponentially from what they've paid past years". From the costs some paid generations ago to the costs paid just last year. Now it is almost a given that should a need occur to seek medical care people are actively weighing their ability to pay the costs even knowing their life is dependent on getting care. The primary deciding factor being - what is my affordability?

What  once was almost a standard selection process after accepting employment, has come down to - what's my affordability? A decision of how much coverage can I afford for either me or me and my  family... and will that coverage be enough in the event something horribly unexpected happens. This is the decision facing every working american, a decision that determines if we seek health care - when we seek health care; who provides the health care, and what happens in the event my decision is not enough.

In some cases it's a life or death decision.

Made even more difficult in the current employer health model because of  the narrow window for enrollment in health plans with new jobs, and almost permanent because wages don't tend to grow to cover health costs. Wages don't even tend to grow to cover costs of living rising in most cases.

Now before you say, that's a bit of overreach because most employer coverage can actually be changed on a yearly basis. Examine the costs when one has to consider family changes which affects wages, the costs adjustments which naturally occur in employer packages - affecting wages. and again there is no matching rise in wages to reflect new costs or rising costs on any basis.

With this and the fact the average employee already tends to choose the lower priced option to maintain wages to maintain their lives and that of their family...

What is an employee to do in the event something really catastrophic happens? 

And Further, what happens if the employee becomes unemployed?

There are many ways to state the need for Health Care, but no greater way to make the case for Universal Health Care than this...

We the People Of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

We The People... in this United States - have a right to Life. Insured by; Defended by; Secured by - We THE PEOPLE

Not singularly but plurally,  we and the officials we elect to represent our cause, have the right to Live and Pursue happiness, but if we are not healthy it cannot be done.

That being said, I think we most all agree the costs of healthcare are rising. We can agree Affordable Care is a must. Our primary disagreement stems from... What is governments role in it's citizens care? The answer lying in the one document both conservative and liberal agree is the foundation of this nation. The founders set in place - that the representatives elected of the people, by the people, and for the people, have the duty of providing and promoting the welfare; defense; and tranquility of the people.

What greater tranquility can one have than not having to decide - if I can feed my family while exploring a long healthy life or should I risk poverty for the most basic of care which i still may not be able to afford on my salary?

Since its inception the Affordable Care Act has been debated and some what persecuted, but now we have the beginnings of ts roll out. Here is a brief look at the simplified application.

Application for Health Coverage & Help Paying Costs (Short Form) by Jeffrey Young