Healthcare in the 21st Century

Flashback to February 1st. The horse-race was reaching a highpoint. The upcoming primary on the 4th was supposedly set to determine the Democratic nominee for President. The economic disaster was still in its incipient stage and people were still talking about Iraq. A major topic of debate between Senator Clinton and former Senator Obama was the issue of health care in the United States... And that was the last we've heard of it since then.

With the economic crisis in the forefront of every newspaper (and everyone's mind as well), the issue of health care has essentially disappeared from the public eye. Those of us fortunate to have health care realize how invaluable it is. For over 40 million Americans this is a luxury they cannot afford, and that fact has an incredibly detrimental affect on their health, mental as well as physical.

The lack of affordable health care in this country contributes to a national psychosis. Living without health care is essentially like living with a razor sharp guillotine hanging constantly above your head. At any moment an uninsured American may be forced to mortgage their home to pay for exorbitant medical costs. Living under constant threat of disaster (especially pertinent with the economy the way it is and people losing jobs by the hundreds of thousands), is it any surprise that most of this country is as insane as it is?

Fortunately, Senator Edward Kennedy is bringing the issue back into the national spotlight. Unfortunately, many of the people who were brought in for the talks have been the same people lobbying against health care reform for well over a decade.

Along with reshaping the economy, Obama needs to invest seriously in our nations health.