President Obama and his team of leaders in the Democratic party are pushing for healthcare reform. Plenty of folks are complaining about all the problems with the proposed healthcare legislation. Let’s not forget the problems we currently have with healthcare and that many caregivers, the people providing care for seniors, the largest segment of our population, do not have healthcare benefits.
That doesn’t seem right, does it?
It seems we need to make some changes and certainly nothing is ever perfect when you first launch it. That is the beauty of the creative process. Remember the first cell phone? You can still have a laugh when you see one in movies from the 1980’s, as large as a lady’s evening purse. By beginning to offer some type of health program that will allow small business owners, the self-employed and the unemployed to have health insurance and to begin conversations about preventive health care (yes, we need to start talking about how to lose weight, eat right and live a balanced life because those of us in senior care see firsthand what happens when you don’t take good care of yourself) we will all benefit. Sadly, the majority of the folks barking about the problems with the proposed changes don’t know the realities of health insurance costs – they have never owned their own business, never been unemployed, never worked a minimum wage job – they have always been able to rely on an employer to pay for their insurance and they just don’t get what the real costs and challenges are for everyone else.
On Friday, legislation was approved that would keep the healthcare reform moving forward to cover uninsured Americans. Take a moment to learn about what is being proposed and let your local Congresswoman or Congressman know your thoughts. All seniors receive healthcare when they are 65 and extremely low-income seniors receive Medicaid benefits. But when someone has not had healthcare their entire life, the amount of doctor’s visits, medications and care ends up costing a lot once they are covered – so many medical conditions can be lessened with proper attention early on and with proper diet and exercise. How much money could we save if everyone who is insured at 65 was actually receiving preventive care their entire life?
