The Rising Cost of Health Insurance
Recently, I had a discussion with my boyfriend about the government's recent decision to try to pass a bill regarding health insurance. In the past years, the cost of health insurance has gone up and is now at the point where many people cannot afford to be insured. Bad? Yes, yes it is.
In fact, health insurance is a major player in many people's day-to-day existence. Why, there are people who stay in unhappy marriages simply because their partner has an outstanding health insurance plan. While this may not be entirely ethical, there are many who sympathize with that sort of situation because they are finding out that they can no longer afford health insurance coverage. Another factor playing into the whole health insurance scheme is that of jobs. When people apply for job positions, the first thing on their minds is often in regards to whether or not their employer provides benefits. In the past, if the employer didn't provide benefits, the potential employee might have thanked the employer for their time and been on their way. However, in this day and age where jobs are much more scarce at the moment, many people are simply happy to have gotten hired.
There are many people who are furious over the fact that they are essential paying X amount of dollars per month so that other people who have massive health problems as well as those who don't have health insurance can essentially receive medical care. However, those who do not have health insurance often fail to realize that the baby that the doctor just delivered or that new heart that they just received, or that infection that the doctor just cured..all of it had to be paid for by someone.
Recently, my father had a major open heart procedure that wound up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. How much did he actually have to pay out of pocket? Nothing. I couldn't believe it. However, this was no small miracle. People like him have major medical procedures every day and don't have to pay for them all because of the health care system. Because my mother has excellent medical coverage, my father's procedure was covered under their health insurance- or should I say- other people's health insurance. Could you just imagine what would happen if instead of the health insurance agency picking up the tab, my father had to pay for it instead out of pocket? There would hardly be anyone who would be able to afford health care then!
There are many who fear that having the government take over health care to create a sort of "universal health care" will only have devastating effects as it will limit competition and cause many people to go out of business. However, this all remains to be seen. While I am, personally, not a proponent of government health care, something certainly needs to be done to revamp the current health care system to make it more affordable; otherwise, none of us will be able to afford health care coverage!
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