Recently, Senato Obama has been hinting that he will ask Americans to make personal sacrifices to solve some of our nation’s problems. Below you will have the kind of speech that I’d like to see Senator Obama make on the health care issue.
As we gather tonight, 50 million of our brothers and sisters are afraid to get sick because they don’t have any health insurance. As we gather tonight, millions more of our brothers and sisters worry because the health insurance they have simply isn’t good enough to cover many serious conditions. As we gather tonight, many of our brothers and sisters have to choose between taking the medicine they need to stay healthy or eating dinner. And as we gather tonight, many of our brothers and sisters—who were unlucky enough to get sick—are being denied coverage by insurance companies who are more interested in making profits than they are helping people get better.
But these real problems don’t just impact our millions of brothers and sisters who don’t have health insurance or those who don’t have enough health insurance. No, our nation’s failure to provide affordable and effective health insurance impacts all of us. As we gather tonight, many businesses are wondering if they should ship jobs overseas—and one of the things they are considering is the high cost of health insurance that American businesses have to pay when compared with businesses in other nations. As we gather tonight, other businesses are choosing to higher temporary workers rather than to create fulltime jobs—and one of the reasons why is the high cost of providing health insurance. It may be that some businesses would keep jobs here if only we would take steps to make the cost of doing business here more reasonable.
The truth is that all of us should be able to find a reason to support universal health care. Making sure that all Americans—regardless of employment or medical condition—have access to affordable effective health care is not just the right moral thing to do—it’s simply the right thing for America to do.
Some businesses, those who profit from the current system, will spend millions scaring us about the horrors of a system that would allow all of us to get medical care. Those same people will rally their supporters in Congress to take up the cause. And every day that the debate over universal health care rages biased members of the media will try and convince all of us that universal health care will give the government control over health care decisions that properly belong with you and your doctor.
But we know better! Those of us who believe in the morality of universal health care will stand strong. Those of us who not only want to make sure that their neighbors can go to the hospital when they need to, but who want to keep running their family restaurant will stand strong as well. Americans know that the supposed choice between a society that offers medical care to all of its members and one that doesn’t ask its citizens to pay too much in taxes or requires a loss of medical services is a false one.
Our government must find the money to help those who really can’t afford health insurance to get it. Our government must create health insurance plans that will give all Americans the option of getting into the same health insurance plans that members of Congress have access to. Our government must then require that existing health insurance companies stop discriminating against the sick.
Our businesses must make good faith efforts to provide their employees with health insurance. Our businesses that don’t work in the health care industry must sit down with the administration and Congress and help us create a plan that will enable their employees to be covered, but that will not cripple them with unfair costs or limit their productivity. Universal health care doesn’t have to scare business or stunt economic growth. If done correctly—with the input of business—it should help American businesses be more competitive in the global arena.
On the surface providing affordable and effective health care seems like a daunting—nearly impossible problem. And the truth is that if it were an easy problem to solve, if trying to solve it didn’t pit those who are happy with their health insurance against those who aren’t and those who don’t have any health insurance against each other we would have had a system of universal health care a long time ago. However, I refuse to believe that the majority of Americans are happy with a system that leaves one in six of us with no health insurance and provides millions more with not enough health insurance. And I know that when most of us hear that someone has lost their home simply because they got sick and couldn’t pay their medical bills we are outraged. And I’m not willing to fall for the tired, old health care industry tricks that have convinced Americans with health insurance that America can’t provide quality health insurance to all of her citizens without limiting the quality of health care services that Americans have access to. I, for one, will not accept the idea that America and Americans are unable to solve this problem. Nor will I accept the cynical idea that Americans won’t sacrifice something to help their brothers and sisters who are terrified of getting sick, losing their homes because of the high cost of health care or dying from treatable conditions.
If I told you that there was something you could do to bring down the amount of money our nation spends on health care while simultaneously making sure that medical services were available to all Americans would you be willing to help? If I told you there was something you could do to save America tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars during your lifetime would you be willing to help? If I told you that for little or no cost all of us working together could save America hundreds of billions of dollars each year, would you be willing to help? If I told you that not only could you help America save hundreds of billions of dollars, but that if you were willing to participate you would live longer and stay healthier, would you be willing to help?
All of these things can become reality if all of us agree to exercise and eat healthier. That’s right, for little more than the cost of a new pare of running shoes or the cost of a gym membership—and the willingness to use either one you could save yourself and our nation tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars during the course of your lifetime.
If you don’t believe me consider these facts. In 2004 Americans spent 152.2 billion dollars on heart disease and cancer treatments. During the 2004 fiscal year America spent 102 billion dollars on the war in Iraq. That’s right, it cost us 50.2 billion dollars more to treat heart disease and cancer than we spent in Iraq over a similar time period. If only half of those who were being treated for heart disease and cancer in 2004 were healthier America could have saved a staggering 76.1 billion dollars. Imagine how much lower your premiums would have been?
Americans are right to demand that our politicians work harder to solve our health care crisis. Americans are right to be fed up with our elected leaders for satisfying the desires of corporations instead of creating a system that provides affordable and effective health care. Americans are right to demand that their government live up to its responsibility and solve this national disgrace in a reasonable way. But every American has the personal responsibility to do what they can to make sure that they’re healthier; thus, reducing costs and limiting the demand for individual medical services. Simply put, if most of us exercise and eat healthier we can, over time, spend far less money on health care, allow all Americans to have access to health care and live longer, happier lives. Like most of our other problems—part of the solution to our health care crisis lies with all of us being willing to sacrifice for the common good. But in this instance, as in many others where Americans choose to sacrifice something for the benefit of someone else, the personal rewards are at least as great as the societal rewards.
So my brothers and sisters, are you willing to do your part to make health care more affordable and effective? Are you ready to help America reduce its budget deficit? Are you ready to help America slow the cost of Medicare? Are you ready to help America end the national embarrassment that is 50 million uninsured Americans? Are you ready to set a good example for our children? If your answer to even one of these questions is yes—I’m looking forward to having you run passed me on the street.
Solving our health care dilemma is only one of the problems facing our nation. But if we unify behind doing our small part we can solve this problem for far less money than we’re spending now and enjoy healthier happier lives.
May 2, 2008 at 8:04 am |
Did you see the Bunk study stating 2/3 of doctors in America want National Health Care. The doctors who did this study also conducted one in 2002 and found that the majority of doctors did not want national health care, the problem with this is that the 2 question surveys drastically differ in there 2nd question. I found this article, 60% of Physicians Surveyed Oppose Switching to a National Health Care Plan, It’s worth a read.