Article by Nick Messe
It seems like the only thing we hear on the news these days is the constant debate that is currently taking place in the United States regarding health care. But what does it all mean? What is the difference between health care and health insurance, and how will it affect me and my family?
Health care is the care you receive when you visit a hospital or doctor’s office to receive treatment for an illness. Health care includes all of the goods and services that are designed to promote health. Health insurance is an insurance that is used to cover medical expenses. You pay a monthly premium, and should you need medical attention, your insurance company will pay for most of those medical costs.
The current health care debate that is taking place across the country is with regard to the government controlling a large portion of the health care industry. There are many details in this health care bill, but the main points of the bill include giving low-income families access to health insurance and requiring employers to offer health insurance to their employees.
There are many pros and cons to this bill. This bill would bring health insurance to many people who otherwise could not afford it and would put cost restrictions on what seems to be an out-of-control industry. Many people have made good arguments about the ridiculous cost of receiving health care. When a man without insurance goes to the emergency room, and receives a two thousand dollar bill for his thirty-minute stay, it raises some questions about the ethical nature of the health care industry.
On the other hand, there are also many cons to the passing of this bill. Many people think that the quality of health care will go down if the industry is regulated by the government. If you compare government agencies with companies in the private sector, companies that are driven by profit are much more efficient and far exceed their government equivalents. Another point that is argued by opponents of the bill is that it will cost trillions of dollars, which will be repaid partly by taxing wealthy individuals. Small businesses will incur more costs, as they will be required to offer insurance to their employees.
Emotions tend to run high when talking about healthcare. Quality of life and happiness is determined by a person’s health. And when people start to talk about change, it tends to make everyone a little nervous because no one knows what the outcome will be. This bill affects everyone, and there are people it might help, and people it might hinder, so naturally it tends to cause emotions to run high.
Over time, other countries have moved to having health care completely controlled by the government. Some say this system works great, but others do not. The outcome of this bill, whether beneficial or detrimental to our nation, will only be known after the passage of time. Hopefully it will be to all of our benefit.
About the Author
Nick Messe is president of Lead Frog LLC. Joe Abraham is a small business consultant with expertise in all the key areas of small business growth including business startup, business development, traffic generation, sales development, marketing and succession planning. Unlike many self-proclaimed small business gurus he has actually built several successful small businesses from the ground up.
