Universal Health What?
With the presidential campaign heat in full effect, a lot of policy terms are being thrown around, leaving the rest of us non-elephant, non-donkey folk lost. So what is all this talk about health care reform? What are its actual implications?
These are valid questions that should be examined in depth, especially since the various candidates are bringing different ideas to the table, with some inclusive of women’s rights and others not so much. Most importantly, since the health care system is currently at such a poor state, we can expect some type of reform to actually arrive so we should understand the changes we will face.
There are a few resources out there that can be helpful in getting a grasp on the basic health care reform concepts. For example, Kaiser just released a great tool for evaluating the presidential candidates’ platforms side-by-side, healthcare being the foremost aspect mentioned. Within the language of the website, you will see new terms like “employer-based coverage,” which essentially means that employers will be responsible for covering their employees and/or paying into a pool which will provide coverage for the uninsured. Individual mandates for health insurance, which a few of the candidates are supporting, mean that every American would be responsible in obtaining some type of coverage—a current example of this coverage model is seen in Massachusetts. Another method in which some candidates are promising increased access to health care is through a single-payer system, which is equivalent to an expanded version of Medicare.
There are still many other undefined terms, some of which can be clarified through Cover the Uninsured’s website. And what about the role of women’s rights in health care? Stay tuned for a blog post on the amazing work that New York City’s MergerWatch is doing to raise women’s voices in health care reform.
- Pooja Awatramani