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Health Insurance Reform Myths

Changes have become an essential thing to be done in our health care system. Can you imagine the premiums of health insurance doubling over the next decade, Medicare trust funds going bankrupt and number of the uninsured continue to increase? These are the circumstances we will have to face if a meaningful reform in the health insurance sector is not made soon.

Special interests in protection of the status quo have employed half truths, deception and cunning tactics to make us believe that the system is still not in a critical condition. In reality, the costs of health care are consuming 16% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and the increasing costs of health care are creating a problem for millions of people who are already struggling because of the present day economic downturn. As a result of this, we are not able to fix our economy unless the realm of health care is fixed.

AARP is a dynamic organization of 40 million members, one of the aims is to protect and strengthen the Medicare. With a long history of fighting for quality health care, it has become a target of those who intend to put a stop to any steps taken to reform the health care system. For a long period of time, the country has been undergoing a system which is too expensive, in which a lot of resources are wasted and yet, a large number of people are left without health care. So far, no bills passing through the Congress have yet been approved but the organization is dedicated to make reforms in the health care system.

Unfortunately, the myths are very popular among the masses today and instead of solving the issues with a positive comment, many of them are working hard on misleading the Americans. Let us take some of their distortions straight out.

No matter what happens, the AARP will never support the proposal which aims at jeopardizing Medicare. Rather, it is fighting for reforms which preserve access to the doctors and gives assurance that they will be fairly paid by the Medicare while making a reduction in fraud and waste. The association is working with the members of both the parties to close Part D coverage gap or the ‘doughnut hole’ for the prescription drugs. Reforming the health care system will help in controlling their ever-increasing prices throughout the system, including the Medicare.

There are no provisions which allow the Medicare to ask you to sign a paper, asking you to determine how you want to end your life. Asking you to do this is cruel and unforgivable. Rather, provisions will allow the physicians to get money for the time they spend on your counseling and for answering the questions of the clients about things like advance directives, durable attorney powers, hospice care and living wills. The patient has the sole right to avail this service.

Let us make things clear. May be some people are trying to scare off the senior citizens, but nothing is there in any proposal which will lead to the rationing of the care for elder Americans or any other age group. In any case, even if such a statement comes up, AARP will take the first step to ward it off.

Some of the fringe groups are making statements that the reform of the health insurance system is a back door attempt to create socialized medicine. But this is not true as it is the government which directly employs doctors and owns hospitals. Instead of this, the aim of the reform is implementing a system that will be much like one members of the Congress present today.

There is a range of affordable and good quality private health plans that the people may choose from. Some of them are offered by the employers, some by state and some by insurance exchange supervised by the federal government. The plans will not be allowed to not accept anyone based on the age or health of the individuals and will have strict cost sharing limits, making the coverage affordable for all.