Health care reform touted at forum

GCSU students and faculty came out in force Nov. 4 to discuss – and debate – proposed public options for national health care. The great majority of those in attendance were in favor of the plans laid out by the House and Senate. The forum, held by Campus Republicans, Young Democrats and The American Democracy Project designed to accommodate opening statements by two professors, Jeffery Blick and Jerry Herbel, who are authorities on the subject. After their statements, both strongly in favor of the reforms, the floor was opened up for comments and questions to an audience comprised of students, professors and other members of the community.

“Health care would be paid for by the government, by you. We’re already paying for it – it’s just not called a public option health plan,” Blick said. Many of those in attendance, at least those who expressed their opinions vocally, appeared to support some type of plan.

“Not having health insurance is not an option,” Lindsey Lorden said. Several students and professors came to represent those whose medical conditions make it a necessity to maintain affordable health insurance.

“If I lose this job, I die,” professor Kathleen Martin said.

Many of the professors pointed out the difficulty of obtaining health insurance for someone who has a preexisting medical condition, and likewise the terrible repercussions of not having affordable insurance, or any insurance at all. Huge, crippling medical bills are a force that can destroy lives almost as surely as the conditions whose treatments warrant their creation.

“I came from Germany where they have a great system. You choose your doctors and your plan. I feel it’s close to perfect,” professor Anisio Martins dos Santos said.

Many of the attendees pointed out the effectiveness of health care systems in foreign countries. The countries represented, via members of the forum who had experienced their health care systems, included Brazil, Germany, Switzerland and Canada.

“We’re 38th in the world in terms of life expectancy, but we spend, by far, the most on health care,” Blick said.

One constant theme seen during much of the forum was the apparent ineffectiveness of the current American health care system in relation to the rest of the Western world, especially regarding the amount of money Americans spend on health care.

“The U.S. is backwards and behind the curve,” Blick said.

Given the controversial topic, at times the discussions grew heated.

“No one agrees that nothing should be done,” professor Jerry Herbel said.

Most at the forum appeared to be in favor of some form of health care reform being proposed by Democrats, although the point was made that a Republican-backed plan has also been proposed. However, it was argued that the GOP plan is little more than a scarecrow proposal, at this point, that would have little impact in extending health benefits to uninsured Americans.

In one regard, the forum was largely a success. Many voices were heard, information was exchanged and – in line with the American Democracy Project’s goals – those in attendance took stock in, debated and offered options that they felt would improve the current system.

Although the words were sometimes fiery, the points sharp and the testimonies sincere – at any rate health care reform lived up to it’s reputation as a hot-button issue that continues to generate interest, in one way or another, from the American public.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 13 2009. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry