The debate on health care has been going on since Roosevelt. People want to be given the right to access affordable health care that not only helps them maintain their lives, but also helps them make responsible choices.
When, however, do we not become responsible for our own choices? Medicine, liposuction and preventative care can only do so much when we ourselves refuse to take responsibility. Americans are the most obese/unhealthy of most of the industrialized nations, yet we spend almost twice as much on health care. Why?Almost all major food products produced in the U.S. contain some sort of corn or corn hybrid due to its cheap production and processing. Can we truly say this is healthy? In urban largely minority neighborhoods we see more check cashing stores and liquor stores being built than grocery stores or health clinics. Could this be the reason why the disparity in health care exists between minorities and whites? What is the simple cause of this? Greed.
Greed has turned our once illustrious health care system into a profit-generating racket that seeks to turn human beings into revenue generation machines.
The overuse of antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, surgical procedures, lab tests and cancer treatments is primarily based on the fact that these generate profits, not that they are medically justified or even effective for patients.
Patients in the U.S. pay 60 to 70 percent more for prescriptions than those in developed nations with socialized health care or single payer systems.
Greed has turned many away from being primary care physicians or from being paramedics and lured them into specialized medical practices or becoming cosmetic surgeons. The American health care system is on the brink of destruction.
As those from the baby boomer era continue to age, Medicare is slated to run out in the year 2017. Medicare is the government run system for citizens 65 years and older. Each year we continue wasting the $2 trillion we currently spend and get the same limited results in health care.
We don’t need another health care bill that will waste time in the senate.
What we need is to better invest the money that we are currently spending. The technological advancements of our health systems can’t continue to go underfunded. We must also look into alternative forms of medicine and less costly ways of preventing diseases as many in other nations do.
As citizens it is our job to let our representatives in government know what are the problems that we see in our communities and to also provide solutions. Health care is an issue the government is struggling with. Perhaps now it’s time to make our voices heard.
Obama’s plan wants to make every citizen covered. Coverage doesn’t ensure great health. You are your best assurance of good health.
Health education is a good start. Preventative care should be second, then medicine as a final solution.
The remedy to this is not as simple as reforming the health care system but reforming how Americans think about health.
As citizens we need to make decisions toward preventing diseases. We need to take some responsibility to control what goes on in our bodies and what we do with them.
Janaya Scott is a senior political science/mass communication major from Cincinnati.