48 million without health care and it's immoral

48 million people are without health insurance in the United States. Let me say that again, 48 million people are without health insurance. Since the Truman administration the debate on health insurance has raged on. During that time HMO’s, and others, are dictating terms and established ration care initiatives to line the pockets of their CEO’s while disregarding the consumer. The cost of the health care industry is spiraling out of control as they rise faster than inflation. Majority leader in the Senate, Sen. Reed, came out last week to notify the country that the Senate will not have a health care reform bill to the Senate floor before the August break. Shame on you Sen. Reed.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi feels that the House of Representatives will do their job and pass a health care bill before the August break. Sen. Reed is dragging his feet, why is that? Doesn’t Sen. Reed understand that Democrats have 60 votes plus a handful of liberal Republicans? So, why is it that he is unable to get a health care plan passed? With 48 million people without insurance the Senate needs to get back on the President’s time table. Some critics are saying that Health Care debate will be the President’s “Waterloo” and by passing a public option will put the private sector out of business.

That is simply not the case. With a public option available it will assist in controlling costs in the long term. The down payment for long term prosperity is minimal compared to the doing nothing. The other side of the aisle is doing all they can to stall out the President’s plan by putting fear in the debate that people will lose their current insurance. President Obama has stated, several times over the past months, that health care reform will not interfere with ones current insurance program.

Congress needs to act now to achieve the goal of President Obama to have meaningful health care reform signed and implemented by the end of the year. One-sixth of our economy is spent on medicine and bus loads of elderly citizen’s travel to Canada weekly to purchase critical medicines. Why is this taking place? It is because drug companies are fleecing American’s under the guise of recouping costs. The two largest drug makers, Pfizer Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline, reported better than expected quarterly earnings last week.

In a world economic recession, the fact that drug makers can still post earnings in the billions translates that reform is needed. Prescription drug costs and fixed incomes put our aging population in a tough spot when they must choose between medicine and electricity. With the reform being proposed by President Obama and Democrats, we will see a reversal of this through a public option. To assist in paying for the public option it is time for those more fortunate to re-establish their moral code. By assessing those that make more than $250,000 with a graduated health care surcharge will alleviate the down payment on our future.

We elected Barak Obama as President last year to enact change. President Obama is moving America in that direction through reform in many industries. It is now time for Congress to assist President Obama in his goal with reform of health care and not time to drag their feet. It’s time for the down payment, let’s make it and do the moral thing; reform health care and institute a public option.