The importance behind health insurance reform

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In this video, on MSNBC Live with Carlos Watson, Wendell Potter talks about the dirty tricks that the insurance companies use to keep profits up and costs down, in order to meet their shareholders expectations. As he states, many of these insurance companies will purge people, and even small businesses, if they are filing too many big claims and costing the insurance companies too much money. He says that these companies are more focused on “looking after the bottom line, more than they are looking after the people.”

Many people are arguing that the healthcare industry needs to be left alone because profits are what drives quality care. Unfortunately, as Potter points out profits often drive a focus on the bottom line, which doesn’t always lead to quality care. Making health insurance more accessible to everyone is incredibly important. Providing a lower cost option will force these insurance companies to start focusing less on their profits and more on their consumers.

There are a lot of people who oppose health insurance reform, most of whom are assuming the worst (that the government is trying to control the healthcare industry in it’s entirety). When talking to these people, aside from assuring them that's not the goal, it’s important to use communication that emphasizes values such as equality, quality and opportunity.

The Importance of Health Care Reform

In this TIME video, Denise was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 27 and was diagnosed after losing health insurance. Fortunately, for several years she was able to get coverage under her husband’s policy. But, given the tumultuous economy, her husband was laid off recently, and they have been forced to cover her medical bills themselves. She has even been rationing medication to save on costs.

The video also states that a recent Kaiser Foundation Study estimates that in this year alone, more that 5 million people are likely to lose their health care benefits, adding the already staggering 45 million people without health insurance in America and 25 million underinsured.

Watching stories like this reminds me how fortunate I am to be the voice of these people who need quality and affordable health care. To learn more about what we’re doing in Washington, D.C. to ensure that people like Denise and her husband don’t have to struggle, please watch the video below.

Let your voice be heard

As most of you know, I am on President Obama's White House Health Reform Task Force. In order to understand completely what type of changes Arizonans would like to see, I've started a group on Facebook, Arizonans for Health Reform. 

I'm committed to reducing costs, preserving choice, assuring quality affordable health care for all Arizonans--and Americans.

Please join the group to add your voice to the conversation and to find out more about upcoming events and forums where we can further this discussion. I look forward to hearing your stories, opinions and ideas.