Regardless of our political leanings, many of us will end up in a hospital some day with a problem or one of a loved one’s, wishing there was something more that could be done. Enter the ’08 race to solve our problems. Healthcare, or the lack of it, will be a topic of discussion over the next ten months. In fact it will be debated about more than any election in history. Right now we are stuck with a patchwork quilt of private plans, public safety nets and insurance schemes. A total of 46 million of US citizens have no medical coverage at all and millions more are poorly covered. Medical bills remain the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in the US and we suffer from the highest rates of heart disease and infant mortality in the industrialized world.
The question put forth in this year’s election is whether or not a for-profit healthcare system can meet the needs of society today and in the future. Can we be a great society if our fundamental approach to healthcare is that “You are on your own?” Is single payer healthcare, as opposed to a system that is a lot like car insurance, the way to go? Are we to go the way of Canada, the UK and France and offer “free” healthcare to every American?
These are the questions that face the ’08 election campaigners. We will need to look at the benefits of preventative care and the benefits of having every American covered. What will this look like tax-wise? It’s a complicated system that will be much discussed and looked at during the next presidential election. But will anything be allowed to change?
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