Health Care Crisis

According to an Associated Press report published on BayNews9's website , "The number of uninsured has grown to an estimated 50 million people because of the recession. Even so, advocates in the halls of Congress are rarely the uninsured themselves (No strength in numbers for America's uninsured, by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar; http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2009/4/11/459319.html)."

Washington has been talking about health care reform for years. Members of Congress have health care. Meanwhile, the number of people in the United States who lack health insurance and/or basic health care is growing.

Many uninsured are faced with having to use hospital emergency rooms as their health care provider. This does several things, including tying up emergency room resources for non-emergency health care. For those who don't go to the emergency room for every cough or sneeze but who lack the resources for basic health care, the lack of insurance has the potential to cost lives. This includes death from preventable diseases: many forms of cancer, if caught in their earliest stages, are curable; flu shots can save not only the very young, the elderly, and the infirm, but those who care for them.

At some time or another, most of us have felt that "I'm only one person; what difference can I make?" According to Harry Glenn, Congressman C. W. "Bill" Young's press secretary, the average person--you and I--can make a difference. "Call or write to your representatives in Washington." Last fall, Mr. Glenn relayed in a phone interview that Rep. Young has fought hard for several bills to help Florida's citizens simply because members of his constituency called or wrote about a pressing issue.

Health care reform is one of those pressing issues. If you currently have health insurance, fantastic. If it's a full-bells-and-whistles plan, so much the better. But let's imagine for a moment if you were to lose your job and your health insurance. Many Americans don't have to image that. I'm not talking about the ne'er-do-wells who feel that the world owes them everything simply because they were born. I'm talking about working class people whose dream in life is to be able to support their family and take care of the business of life. Without health care, that can be difficult.

What each of us needs to do is contact our Representatives in Congress and our Senators. Ask that if they have not yet signed on the Health Care for America Now Statement, to please do so. Ask that they support health care reform in 2009 and beyond. If the 435 members of Congress and 100 members of the Senate were suddenly without health care, a health care package would most likely be considered a top priority. Fifty million Americans without health insurance deserve the same.