by Kelly Greenbaum

Created on: August 29, 2009   Last Updated: August 30, 2009

There are many ways we can reform health care so that it is working for the people instead of against the people. The entire system is as corrupt as the financial system. To begin with, we should have a wellness care and not just a sickness care mindset. Many emergency room visits could be prevented if illnesses were treated in a doctor's office. Emergency room visits are very costly compared to a visit with your family doctor.

The health care disaster began with the insurance and pharmaceutical companies using lobbyists to buy off our representatives. When you look at the data that shows how much money these businesses gave to help get our elected officials elected, it stands right out at you. The evidence is there for all to see.

The insurance companies have been making record profits for the last eight years. How are they doing this? They do this by depleting patients of fewer services and by cutting patients off for pre-existing conditions. They even tell us what kind of medication we can take. After viewing the movie, Sicko, a documentary from Michael Moore, things began to make real sense.

Insurance companies have trained their employees to reject people. They receive bonuses based on how many people they can reject. During the movie, Michael interviews several insurance company employees who felt terribly guilty for denying people their claims when they knew it was wrong. They also sent in thousands of letters to Michael after realizing he was doing this documentary. For anyone who hasn't seen it, republican, democrat or independent, this is a movie worth seeing.

Now let's talk about the pharmaceutical industry. They equal the insurance companies revenue success and also equal with their campaign contributions. They claim they need the money for research but when you look at their profit sheets, they are making an exorbitant amount of money. At the same time they make Americans pay three times the amount of money then our European counterparts for the same medication's from the same company.

The ceo's of both the pharmaceutical companies and the insurance companies receive bonuses that can be compared to what Wall Street giants and banks continue to get. Have we forgotten one of the most recent news events about one of the biggest insurance companies in the country, AIG? This infuriated many but the fact is it still happened and still is nationwide.

Another huge problem involves the Medicare and Medicaid system. There is so much waste and mismanagement

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>