Health Care Reform

There are many risks that are facing the American people when it comes to Healthcare reform. Many feel that the US should have a national Healthcare plan; however others feel that with a national Healthcare plan we lose our freedom of choice.

One of the most popular complaints people have regarding Healthcare reform is the inability to choose their own doctor. If reform happens choosing your own doctor will be a thing of the past. According to President Obama and the Healthcare reform bill, Americans will have to get services through a “medical home”. This type of service will choose your primary care doctor. America is based on freedom; the risk of losing freedom has some Americans worried about the other types of freedom they will lose.

Another risk regarding Healthcare reform is losing the ability to choose the type of coverage you have in your insurance plan. Each state will have a “standard benefit package”. The package includes every type of healthcare service/provider. With the Healthcare reform bill Americans will not have the ability to choose the type of coverage they want.

The final issue I would like to discuss regarding Healthcare reform is the fact that we lose the freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or paying our real costs. With President Obama’s plan “community rating” will be enshrined into federal law. Depending on the state, in its purest form “community rating” requires all patients pay the same rates for their level of coverage regardless of their age or medical condition. Under the Senate plan, insurers would be barred from charging any more than twice as much for one patient vs. any other patient with the same coverage. For example, if a 20-year-old who costs just $800.00 a year to insure is forced to pay $2,500.00, a 62-year-old who costs $7,200.00 would pay no more than $5,000.00.