These days the topic that dominates the airwaves and the printed media is health care. More importantly, the topic everyone's talking about is health care reform. What's the big deal, however? Why are we now focused on health care, and what's all this talk of socialized medicine? The reason health care is at the forefront of everyone's mind is because people are living longer than ever before, there are more people alive than ever before, and, as a country, our money is running out. That means millions of aging people will not be able to receive the medical attention they require. That's a devastating thought when you consider Baby Boomers are getting to be that age where doctor visits are more common. And if they, and the rest of the aging population, don't get the medical attention they need, well, it's pretty much assumed what will happen.
Socialized Medicine
What the politicians and the media are discussing when they talk about socialized medicine is medicine for everyone. It's like they have in Europe. You go to the hospital and you get the care you need. The doctors are paid by the government so the patient doesn't have to pay for the care received. That sounds great to the millions who need health care and can't afford it, but it's really bad news for the doctors who enjoy a very healthy salary year after year. If medical care was regulated by the government, doctors would make half of what they do now or even less.
The way medical care works now is you go to the doctor and you get the care you need. If you have insurance, you may have a co-pay and your insurance pays the rest. If you don't have insurance, you have to pay out of your own pocket. Without insurance, paying for the care you require can quickly break some people. Not many sick individuals have the hundreds or even thousands of dollars it costs to get the care they need, and that doesn't even cover the cost of prescription drugs. This leads many people to forgo healthcare when they may need it because they can't afford it.
Some would ask why these people don't get insurance to help pay for their health care. The problem is that many insurance companies will not accept people with previous health conditions. That leaves a lot of elderly out of the picture. And, if someone needs insurance to pay for an ailment they just developed, such as cancer, they can't get coverage either. Imagine if all you needed was health care to make yourself better but you couldn't afford it.
Health care may not have to be socialized to help all the sick people in this country, but something does need to be done so that we can help our own and get them the help they need.
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