Say 'No' to Health Care Reform?

The Administration believes that comprehensive health reform should:

•Reduce long-term growth of health care costs for businesses and government
•Protect families from bankruptcy or debt because of health care costs
•Guarantee choice of doctors and health plans
•Invest in prevention and wellness
•Improve patient safety and quality of care
•Assure affordable, quality health coverage for all Americans
•Maintain coverage when you change or lose your job
•End barriers to coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions
(Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health_care/)

Let' imagine for a moment that health care reform does not pass. Let's imagine that the politicians and the country remain divided on this issue. Let's imagine that some men, women, and children have health care coverage and some do not. Next, let's imagine an outbreak of Swine Flu, Bird Flu, or any other potentially pandemic strain of influenza.

For many people, this may be quite acceptable since it will more than likely affect the poor, the disenfranchised, and the forgotten people of the country. Let's imagine that they are affected (and infected first) by the epidemic and they get sick and begin to die en masse. Since disease is no respector of affluency, let's imagine that the influenza begins to find its way into the homes and bodies of those who have insurance. The insurance dollar is there to treat the covered member but the influenza has had enough time to mutate into a super-germ since it affected millions of other people first. The insurance covers treatment and medication but it is too late. Research & development of medications for these super-germs is not occuring fast enough. The affluent, insured member dies.

Think about it. Can we really afford to say 'no' to health care reform?