National Health Care

The debate rages. Democrats want universal health care and Republicans do not. Both sides have valid points. One group, including our president, wants us all to be insured. They believe that insurance corporations are getting rich off of those who can least afford it. Another group believes that citizens can take care of themselves. They feel our government is turning into a nanny state. I humbly offer my version of a middle ground.

Democrats acknowledge that many of us are either uninsured or under-insured. Small business owners cannot afford the added cost of offering insurance to their workers. Universal health care would offer affordable health insurance to all while keeping costs in check. They argue that Medicare, a government run program, has been working well for decades and therefore augurs well for the success of a national program. It is the government's job to keep us well.

Republicans decry any further spending as our national debt keeps growing. They believe that it is up to the individual to meet their own needs and that the free market system works. They suggest that Medicare has been beset by rising costs and myriad instances of fraud. It is not the government's job to meet each and every need of its citizens. There will always be those who have more than others and this is no way suggests failure within our present system.

We as a nation are in greater debt than ever before. I cannot see the benefit of scrapping what works now for a new plan which no one in congress can agree on. Those who have insurance are doing better than they know. I would prefer that our government spends money to fill in the gaps. Offering a public option only to those with little or no insurance would be the best option of all. It would be cheaper and more efficient to help those whom have nowhere else to turn.

Even as Washington discusses and debates the issue we sit by the sidelines and wait. What little specific information offered to the public has been confusing and contradictory. Each side tries to gain the upper hand while simultaneously changing the story they tell us. I cannot say with any certainty whether universal health care is what we need. I only know that people suffer whom have no access to quality care while others file bankruptcy due to rising medical bills. I pray that a solution is found before the next administration.