by Nan C Avery

Created on: June 29, 2009   Last Updated: July 04, 2009

Massachusetts tried to overhaul healthcare on a state level in 2006. Unfortunately, the plan that, to many, was supposed to be an innovative approach to healthcare, failed. The reason it failed is because it was still dependent on insurance companies. The Boston Globe reported that the plan is not universal. There are still many who are uninsured because they can't afford the premiums. The Globe gave an example of a family that makes $30,000 and the cheapest plan they can afford is $10,000, which covers only a fraction of the medical bills.

There has to be healthcare changes. At present, there are over 46 million people who are not insured. These are not the poor or the wealthy. The poor get government help through Medicaid and Healthy Start program. The wealthy can enjoy healthcare insurance because they can afford it.

It is the so-called middle class group who can't afford insurance. The small businesses can't afford to supply insurance for these workers because it is too much of a financial burden for them or they can provide some help with the premiums but the employees are left with a high deductible to come up with whenever there is a medical situation.

The insurance companies are opposed to any healthcare changes. It would cut into their profits and then they might become one of the many "middle class" individuals who would have to figure out how to pay for medical care.

To implement or overhaul a new healthcare program in the United States would cost over $2 trillion over the next ten years. There are ways to cover the cost without going into socialized medicine. President Obama has suggested that we could raise over $600 billion by not allowing the wealthiest segment of society as many tax deductions. Another is to place a tax on magazines, sodas, candy and other items that are not necessities. He also suggested cutting back on Medicaid and Medicare by 300 billion. This makes sense because the populace won't need these health insurances because everyone would be covered. Medicare is taken out of our paychecks every month anyway and it wouldn't be any different to have it applied to insurance now instead of later. Medicaid comes out of our pocket, too. How much nicer it would be to be able to enjoy the insurance benefits now instead of later? And Medicaid: most of us don't have benefit of it anyway. How nice it would be to be able to use it for everyone. Another way to support healthcare coverage for all is to modernize the billing practices of insurance companies.

Healthcare reform has to come. We, as a nation, have to work together to come up with a plan that covers all of us. We have to share with our elected representatives ideas we may have or to encourage them to come up with alternative plans to what is available now.

Learn more about this author, Nan C Avery.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.