During this year’s race for the presidency, one of the issues that will be heavily focused on is America’s lack of sufficient health care. Parallel to health care is the issue of affordable prescriptions.
Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s plans include guaranteed eligibility for all Americans with a health plan similar to the plan available to members of Congress. Hillary Clinton is proposing lowering costs and improving quality; Americans will have a choice of affordable plans to choose from.
Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain believes the key to health care reform is to restore control to the patients themselves. A component of his plan is to use competition to improve the quality of health insurance that is proportionate to people’s needs, lower prices and portability.
While the battle for the presidency wages on, many organizations and companies are taking matters into their own hands. According to Julia Vaughn, health policy coordinator for Citizens Action Coalition, a statewide consumer organization that represents consumers on health care issues, the best way to make health care affordable to all Americans is a nationwide Medicare plan.
“The main reason why people don’t have insurance is because they can’t afford it. The only way to do that is to recognize that health care is like education, police and fire; it’s a public good. We should finance it in the same way we finance those other basic public goods like making sure our roads and bridges are maintained — through the tax system,” explained Vaughn.
The health care activist states that unlike all other industrialized nations, the United States never sat down to create a health care system. Although there are many government programs such as Medicaid, Veterans health care and the state Children’s Health Insurance Program, those programs not only don’t fit together, but also don’t encompass the vast majority of those in need of insurance.
“Those who are uninsured work. They either don’t have access to a plan at work, or if they do, it’s just that their share of the cost is more than they can afford on their job,” added Vaughn. “There is Medicaid, but that only covers the poorest of the poor, only the lowest incomes.”
In presenting a possible solution to America’s health care predicament, Vaughn also says a universal Medicare system is the best way because it’s efficient. Experts say that studies show Medicare spends 3 cents of every dollar on administration costs while private health care companies spend about 25 cents, which some say mostly goes to advertising and large upper management salaries.
Vaughn states the Congressional Budget Office also did a study that showed Americans could save about $70 billion by going to a system like Medicare for all.
Many also believe it’s not that Americans aren’t spending enough on health care, they’re just spending too much on red tape. Advocates of universal health care also stand firm behind Medicare for all so that Americans can get more preventive care.
Businesses such as Wal-Mart have worked to give citizens financial relief through their $4 prescription program. The national chain has even taken that model a step further by recently unveiling phase three of its program, which now covers a 90-day prescription for $10, women’s health medications and a new $4 over the counter offer.
“More people find health care, and particularly prescribed medicines difficult to afford. This is one of the reasons we continually work to take our $4 prescription program to the next level,” said Dr. John Agwunobi, Wal-Mart senior vice president and president of health and wellness in a recent press release.
Effective immediately, Wal-Mart and its affiliates, Neighborhood Market and Sam’s club pharmacies, will be carrying out Phase III of Wal-Mart’s plan.
The battle for affordable health care and prescriptions is long from over. Crusaders for human wellness want to inspire all to become educated about local and state government’s platforms about health care and research all of the possibilities available to them for the time being.
“Really learn everything you can about health care and get involved. We don’t want the insurance companies writing health care reform,” said Vaughn.
For more information, call 1-800-Wal-Mart, visit www.walmart.com/pharmacy or www.citact.org.
