Monday, March 9, 2009

Health Coverage Lapses Affect All Of Us

By Ethan Kalvin

When Americans think of people who don't have health insurance, the first group that comes to our mind is the unemployed. But that is no longer an absolute rule. Many are surprised to learn that having a full time job no longer guarantees health care benefits. Companies are cutting costs wherever they can to stay afloat, and health care is one of the first things to go in their budget slashes. The problem with this is that there is now a growing class of Americans without insurance who work full time, but who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, and don't make enough to purchase private coverage.

In 2007, for instance, one third of businesses in the US did not offer any sort of health insurance benefits for their employees. Rapidly rising costs in the health insurance industry are causing small businesses to be unable to provide such benefits for their employees. This is causing an overall health insurance crisis in our country.

There are many who are concerned that moving toward a government run system of health care is a sign of socialism, and not the way our country was set up to be run. But the truth is that people are dying. Children are dying. Because they can't afford health care. Whatever a universal system may be called, this democracy was set up to be of the people, for the people, and by the people. So if the people want it, then who are the politicians to tell us no?

As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we are among the last to come up with a workable health care plan that would protect all citizens. The reason we have a government is because we have citizens to govern. We need to do a better job of taking care of the people. From 2006 to 2007 about a third of the population under 65 went without health care coverage for a portion of time. That is wrong. While politicians in Washington have the best health care coverage available, paid for by citizens by the way, they vote down coverage for their constituents. Something is wrong with that concept.

Whatever your stance on this issue, you must at least agree that something should be done to help out our fellow Americans. It is time to come together and pay for what works, and eliminate the extras from the budget. If this doesn't happen, then as a country, we wont survive.

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