I was disappointed, but not surprised by Mike Rogers' (Congressional representative for Albama's 3rd district) recent press release opposing health care reform. The health care bills before the House and Senate address the systemic problems in our health system that include fast rising costs for employers and patients, a growing numbers of uninsured, and an insurance system that discriminates against an American with any pre-existing condition.
It is true that the health care legislation involves trade-offs, costs, and risks. Healthy American who do not currently cary health insurance will be required to buy insurance. The wasteful Government subsidies to private insurers for Medicare Advantage programs will decrease. Medicaid expansion will increase financial burdens on federal and state governments.
The financial and humanitarian jeopardy we leave ourselves vulnerable to by not pursuing health care reform far outweighs the risks and imperfections we accept with reform. We can see that the dam will burst if we do not attempt to re-enforce it. There are good sources of information online that describe the costs and benefits in detail including healthreform.gov and Wikipedia.
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