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Health Care Is About People

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 24, 2007

Every person in our community should have some peace of mind that they will have financial security and adequate health care as they enter retirement years. Knowing we will be financially secure and we will have health coverage when we need it is historically the American way.

But as I watch our state Legislature and Congress vote on laws and budgets that cut funding from crucial programs that affect these issues, it becomes apparent that millions of Floridians need to start worrying more about their health and long-term financial security.

In Florida, it is a constant struggle for hundreds of thousands of citizens to afford the health care they need. This is not an issue affecting only the poor; many in the middle class are struggling, too. Rising health insurance premiums, acquiring health insurance that is affordable and the everlasting possibility of losing coverage altogether have become unwavering fears for far too many Florida families.

What has gone wrong in our society when countless citizens and neighbors are just one medical emergency away from financial ruin? If you monitor the real estate news, you can easily see that the rate of foreclosure is at record highs in Florida.

Not only are individuals suffering, the business community is, too. Many businesses can no longer afford health insurance for their employees and are opting to forgo this benefit. This leads to undue financial hardships, and many families can no longer afford to live the lifestyle they had. They must make hard choices.

It is obvious that at the root of this problem is cost. Each day, health care is getting more expensive. Increasing numbers of HMOs drown you in a maze of paperwork that is confusing and encumbered with a myriad of hidden charges. It is confusing for the average family to understand what care they are getting for the money they are paying.

What our elected leaders fail to realize, either from short-sightedness or sheer ignorance, is that as they try to reduce costs or to privatize health care, more citizens lose health care coverage and end up on the roles of Medicaid. As more people end up on Medicaid, the cost to cover them becomes more expensive. In the end, the government ends up paying more for Medicaid coverage. This could be avoided if they fund programs that help people pay for their own medical insurance.

As our national and local election cycle gears up, let's make sure this issue does not get pushed to the wayside. As candidates give speeches, make sure we put them to the test and that their promises are real and not a smoke screen.

This problem is so pervasive that I wonder whether these political leaders get it. Are they so insulated by their power that they never leave their gated communities to experience the realities of life?

As I travel back roads, I can almost smell the stench of poverty, and I see many malnourished and sick children with no escape or hope. When we drive through our streets, we avoid taking the routes that expose us to the realities of life.

What are we becoming? We are the world's most technically advanced country, with the best economic system and medical care, and we are the envy of the entire world. Isn't it sad that we are quick to send billions of dollars and food, doctors and medicine around the world to combat hunger and illnesses outside our borders, but we fail to look in our own backyards?

At their core, Americans all want the same basic things: quality education for their children, a good job so they can provide for their families and affordable health care. As the U.S. per capita income continues to grow at a rate of 1.5 percent a year, this country has plenty of money to finance high-quality health care for all citizens, including those at the bottom of the wage ladder.

It is a shame that one in seven Floridians, including more than 500,000 children, do not have even basic health care coverage.

Sen. John Kerry once stated: 'Fixing our health care system as a whole is our primary challenge, and to make it happen you need to get engaged, to pound the pavement, get your hands dirty, endure real sacrifice, take on antiquated thinking and help lead the public debate.'

I believe there is hope. I believe the best days are still ahead, if we put our political leanings aside and address the issue of affordable health care by treating it as a people issue and not a political one.

Think about it. It is time to speak out and stand up to the challenge. It is wrong for countless Floridians, most of them in working families, to worry at night and wake up in the morning without the basic protection of health insurance.

When it comes to health care, it is not that conservatives or liberals don't care. They do. What we have is a difference of the mind, not the heart. Put the mind aside and listen to the heart. In doing so, you will be surprised at what we can do.

Luis Lopez, a Democrat, is a Zephyrhills city councilman and youth counselor.

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