Is health care reform worth it?

Brenna Coleman
DC Alternative Medicine Examiner
Nov 30, 2009

The health care reform debate continues through the holiday season. After months of negotiating, the question looms, is health care reform worth it? The fear is that legislation will result in little change in the health care industry, or in the deficit. Change in people’s access to health care and well-being does not seem to be a top priority.

Health care reform package drafted by Senator Harry Reid

The latest Washington Post article on health care reform talks about the discussion on Senator Harry Reid’s $848 billion package, which intends to bring efficiency to health care, reduce private premiums over time, and manage health care costs for the elderly and the poor. Critics worry that Washington cannot even afford this plan however.

Reid’s plan would expand coverage to 30 million people, the number used in most proposals; and, would not make the deficit much worse than it already is, which isn’t necessarily a great solution as the deficit could be as much as 14% of the US economy in 2035.

Is health care reform for well-being or reducing the deficit?

Lawmakers had hoped to reduce government spending on health care now and in the future by passing health care reform. With a more efficient system money potentially wouldn’t be wasted on bureaucracy, overpriced medical procedures, and overpriced drugs. Also, with the ever-expanding sea of the elderly and the poor, taking money from Medicaid and funneling it into subsidized premiums would be a convenient solution for the future, if all that mattered was money.

Still, legislators stay focused on solving the rubix cube of saving money, making structural changes, and keeping the people who already have health insurance happy. In the end, health care reform is code for shifting finances. Medicaid, which currently covers 15% of the non-elderly population, loses money so the poor can pay for subsidized health care instead.

Health and well-being are yet to be the issue, as a discussion about extremely less expensive alternative medications and treatments remains unheard. Until then, health care reform may remain the great illusion of our time