May 18
Health Insurance and Health Care Extremes
There are two sides to every debate, and one major debate currently raging on in this country centers around health care reform. As with most issues, the politics of the debate place people on either side of government support. Some feel that the government should stay out of our lives as much as possible, others feel that we need the government to regulate and protect us. In the realm of health care, those in favor of government involvement cite the need to be protected from unscrupulous physicians and providers who might engage in all sorts of unethical practices in the name of taking our money. In many ways, the government is needed to police both the providers as well as the insurance companies to assure that when we pay money to a provider or insurance carrier, they are required to meet their obligations to us by providing a service or paying a claim. In this, and many other ways, the government is there to ensure our welfare and safety and make sure we are not taken advantage of. However, should there be a limit to this involvement. If the government were to be in complete control of the health insurance industry, would we see too many restrictions, and actually a threat to our welfare?