Health care is one of the most critical and important issues facing Americans today, especially young people. The largest and fastest growing population of uninsured citizens are between the ages of 19-24. When we look at the whole picture, there is no doubt American is in dire need of substantial health care reform.
There is hope...
Clean Elections gives political power to people who cannot afford quality health care, let alone contribute to a political campaign. For-profit health care and pharmacuetical companies no longer have the power of their campaign contributions to control health care legislation.
For those of us who are concerned about the health care crisis, we must then ask ourselves the question: why, in the most prosperous country in the world, do we have a health care system in which so many American citizens go without quality, affordable health care?
The answer lies in three of the most profitable industries in America - Big Pharma, Health Insurance Companies, and Health Management Organizations (HMOs). The financial influence these industries have over our politicians and the political process allow them to unfairly control the health care debate and the policies that shape the current system.
Pharmecuetical industry giants such as Pfizer and Glaxo Smith Klein, health insurance companies such as Blue Cross Blue Sheild and Humana, and HMOs such as Kaiser Permanente and Aetna have as their primary goal to maximize profits for their investors - that's simply the nature of a for-profit corporation. But maximizing profits for investors does not always mean providing the best service for customers. In fact, it often times means denying care to people who desperately need it, raising the cost of health care and prescription drugs even if it that makes it unaffordable for some people, marketing unsafe drugs to people who don't need them, and even refusing to cover medical costs of people who are paying customers.
We all probably know someone who has faced one of the crises listed above and/or have faced one ourselves. And to understand why these crises occur and why our government has failed to react all we need to do is follow the money.
The numbers tell the story:
Over the course of fifteen years, these companies have invested over $220 million into political campaigns for the purpose of mainaining the health care status quo and ensuring that politicians support health care policies that maximize profit for these industries. When private, for-profit, corporations are able to influence public policy through campaign contributions it is no wonder that the general public suffers as a consequence.
If you are an advocate for health care reform then you must also address the problem of money in politics and advocate for system that gets big money out of politics. Only through clean elections - a volutary system full public public financing for campaigns - can we free our elected officials and our political process from the grips of corporate moneyed interests. There are number of solutions and ideas as to how to reform our health care system. But in order for these ideas to be heard and for much-needed change to occur we must also reform our democracy. Only when the 47 million uninsured and 50 million underinsured Americans can have their voices heard on a level playing field with those of the health insurance, health management, and pharmaceutical companies, can our government finally represent all voters not just big campaign donors. |
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