The Past and Future of Healthcare

Part I:

            Health care has been a human issue since the beginning and an economical issue since medicine was developed and sold. Health care consists of helping people cope with diseases, injuries, and the economical costs of treatment. In the past, few centuries we have developed exceedingly advanced medicines and diverse lifestyles that provide long healthy lives for the people who can afford it. This is where the problem arises, where people cannot afford the expensive medicines, treatments, and doctor visits. People who cannot take the tremendous costs of insurance and medicine have to live with the risk of being sick or bankrupt. There are roughly fifty million Americans who lack insurance and many more who simply skip doctor appointments to save money. One variation of this is medical tourism, where people go as far as to travel to other countries for cheaper medicine or care. American citizen Julia Shay crossed over the Mexican border to receive cheap dental care for years for her dental problems. As the prices of medical care and insurance rise, lower income brackets resort to radical behaviors to eliminate excessive costs. (“The Health Care System Favors the Wealthy and Harms the Poor”) 

             I believe that health in America is an important issue because it affects tens of millions in the nation. An effective health care system adds to the overall healthiness, which also helps the economic wellbeing of a nation. We currently have highly developed and widespread health care as it is, which is ranked among the best of the world. However, millions pay outrageous prices for treatment because we do not have a universal health care system. The high prices stimulate more bankruptcies and significant financial losses for people in the lower economic levels. (“The Health Care System Favors the Wealthy and Harms the Poor”) Not only are the current system’s costs towering, but also revolve around the wrong motives, methods, and preferences of health care consumers. Insurance companies, hospitals, and medical research entities typically run health care as a profitable business rather than a service or a right. (“The U.S. Health care System”) Insurance coverage is almost a requirement when receiving treatment because prices are so oversized, so giving low-income citizens insurance has to be made easier. Health care reformation, as proposed by President Obama, has potential to improve the nations healthy living standards and overall economic burden for every citizen.

            In general, Americans look at health care’s negative sides are being expensive and unequally distributed. The positive side is that our health care system is one of the most advanced and well regulated in the world. Currently, people are focused on the controversial healthcare bill proposed by President Obama. Health care reform opinions are polarized around the two political parties. Republicans are typically against Obama’s plan for universal health care. Aside from individuals that singularly argue that the bill is socialist, there are other well-educated arguments against it. Republicans more concretely argue that a socialized health care system provides lower quality care because there is less competition, longer waiting periods, and other inefficiencies. Democrats, on the other hand, often argue that America is the last industrialized country that does not have universal health care. Other countries with similar health care plans pay for it with a fraction of their yearly cost. (“Does Universal Healthcare Work in Other Countries?”) Fundamentally, Democrats argue that everyone deserves the same quality of medical services. The public’s attitude is still polarized even after the bill’s passage in 2010.

            In the past, when democratic presidents were in power, bills intended to improve health care have been proposed. These attempts have been trampled by republicans and other opposition forces until the recent Obama administration. In his election campaign, Obama started to promote his own bill for universal health care for support, and continued to push the idea for the two years after he won office. Obama based his drafts of healthcare on Massachusetts, which is a state health care system. Democrats claim that the bill will make health care more affordable, hold insurers more accountable, and cover all Americans no matter their financial shortcomings, as reported by the White House’s website. (“Health Reform in Action”) No American President has been able to pass an entire universal health care law. Even though the bill was successfully passed, it still has a long path to go on before it is fully in place. The bill is in the process of being challenged by the courts for its constitutionality. As a result of the “individual mandate” that requires people to buy insurance, the entire law must be declared void.” (“Judge Rules Health Care is Unconstitutional”) The case is most likely going to go to the Supreme Courts in the future, where it’s fate will be decided. This will be a long process and much of the bill may already be passed at that time. (“Repealing Obamacare”)

Part II:

            Multiple democratic presidents have pushed for health care reform in the past. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Truman, Nixon, and Clinton were a few that sponsored health care. Even though there have been many presidents who wanted America to develop a universal system, Obama was the first to be successful. (“U.S. Presidents and Health Care Reform”) The President formulated the bill with Massachusetts’ statewide health care bill in mind. Governor Mitt Romney signed this revolutionary law in 2006. It required people to buy health insurance if they were out of a job. The law also granted health care to around 50,000 people who did not have enough money to buy insurance. In the past year, the law has faced significant rises in costs and is generally seen as unsuccessful. (“Massachusetts health care program, model for Obama’s reform, strains state budget”) Even though the bill is facing problems today, it paved the way for Obama. He based his original campaign on health care for all Americans and succeeded in March of 2010. (U.S. Presidents and Health Care Reform) http://www.suite101.com/content/us-presidents-and-healthcare-reform-a147138 The lengthy bill had trouble getting past the republican house, which vehemently attacked the bill and refused to pass it. The measure passed through the Senate by a vote of 220 to 215 and through the House by a vote of 219 to 212. (“Health Care Reform News”) Ever since its passage last year, health care has come under harsh criticism from republicans. In addition, the supreme court which deemed it unconstitutional because it violates individual mandate. In other words, the government is forcing people to buy a commercial product, insurance. Judge Hudson asserted at a hearing that the government was passing its federal power limits. Forcing someone to buy insurance was congruent with forcing people “to eat asparagus.” (“Health Care Reform News”) Whether or not the bill is deemed unconstitutional, there is bound to be continuing attacks on health care until it is at least revised.

            I have volunteered at Kaiser Permanente in Walnut Creek for the past three years for around four hours a week. Working at Kaiser gives me the opportunity to volunteer consistently every week where I can see the hospital environment first hand. This job includes helping people get around the hospital, discharging patients, managing the hospital gift shop, and assisting in other ways for customer service. My work at Kaiser is not just limited to knowing the hospital’s directions; I also get the chance to develop people skills and business skills, such as in the gift shop. I deal with many different types of people that come through the doors, which reflects the diversity of people who require medical care. Customer service plays a large part when dealing with stressed out patients or visitors. I have had experiences dealing with irritated patients that do not want to comply with the emergency fee. Patients are required to set up an appointment for minor injury, which is simply, an impromptu doctor visit for injuries that do not have immediate danger. Some people usually go to emergency to be safe and quick, but most people tend to rather wait because the emergency bill is not worth it for them. Even if people have insurance, which people are almost guaranteed to have if they live in this area (middle to upper class), people are still reluctant to have to pay exorbitant fees. When people do not have insurance, the idea of traveling to the emergency room is out of the picture. Hospitals receive most of their revenue from insurance companies. Hospitals act like businesses when looked at economically. Even though Kaiser Hospitals are all non-profit, this does not mean their treatments or medications are cheaper than any other hospital. Even as customer service and wealth increase such as around Kaiser Hospital in Walnut Creek, people still are reluctant to pay the high prices for medicine, doctor visits, and emergency care. The high prices of medical supplies affects all types of people, as I have seen in the past few years volunteering at Kaiser.

Part III:

            America’s complicated issue of health care has been changed significantly as Obama’s came into office. He took initiative to change health care for the better. The health care measure will take a decade until all of its components are fully adopted, even though it was successfully made into law. This process of adaptation is bound to stop because of the large population of the opposition. The republicans are determined to repeal the law before it is put into place. With the law being over one thousand pages and filled with confusing jargon, the majority of Americans do not understand the bill, which includes many politicians. There is much confusion and uncertainty about the bill, as shown by Fox News and AP polls. (“Poll: Americans Do Not Understand Health Law”) Even though the bill has good intentions, it needs serious revisions. I want there to be universal health care in this country without causing more problems than it solves. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world so we have to try to pass the next best thing. Having some, socialized aspects, could help balance out the costs and restore the budget with incoming revenue. Social programs such as the police force and public schools are success stories, so health care should be able to follow in the same footsteps. As long as the following administrations follow in Obama’s intentions of universal health, a bill should be passed in the future to grant everyone with insurance without seriously crippling the government’s budget.

            My service at Kaiser the past few years have taught me people skills, communication skills, leadership, professionalism in the workplace, and empathy for others in stressful situations. Having these qualities helped me understand that people treasure quality customer service, treatment, and affordability. I also realize why people are angry at large institutions and medical expenses. Becoming a shift leader almost a year ago also added to my growth. I teach new volunteers how to do the job and lead others throughout the day. The responsibility often puts me in situations I would rather not be in; such as being called to tell people where to go more often than regular volunteers. Even though I do not enjoy answering questions all the time, I can use these instances to understand people and to help them out the best I can. Through process of researching the topic of health care, I have learned how revolutionary universal health care is for America. I also understand the extraordinary amount of work Obama and his administration put in. Even though I do not agree with the bill, I respect the amount of hard work went into it. Health care is a convoluted and costly problem in America. I believe that the recent measures will not solve every problem, but are steps in the right direction. Though the bill has yet to be put into place, health care has increasing potential to improve America’s wellbeing next few decades.