Don't Call it "Health Care"
The hottest domestic issue this month goes by the term "health care." For example, yesterday's headlines included "Obama Seeks to Rally Support For Health Care Bill" and "Obama Moves to Reclaim the Debate on Health Care." However, the term "health care" in this context is a misnomer. "Health care" is what you get from your doctor, if you are lucky. What is being debated in Washington this month is "health insurance," not "health care."
The difference is important, because insurance companies do not provide "care," nor, as we know, do they "care" about us. They would love for us to call them "health care" companies, as many people do, and to make the subconscious association of what they do with the warm fuzzy word "care." We shouldn't let them. Even "insurance" and "coverage" are euphemisms, since we know that these companies often don't "ensure" or "cover" anything.
Maybe the most accurate term for what these companies do on a regular basis is "insurance fraud." That's supposed to be illegal, isn't it?
Labels: health care, health care reform, health insurance, health insurance reform
posted by media concepts @ 5:00 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I'm afraid that Bandaids aren't going to fix what ails this country's health care system. It would really take a complete house-cleaning and rethinking of the health care-health insurance industry and that's something this country is just not going to do. There's simply no silver bullet to provide health care coverage to everyone without someone paying for it. The people I'm most disgusted with are those who can afford health insurance but opt to sponge off the system instead when they get sick. I paid $800 for my daughter's UTI treatment in an emergency room in rural Wisconsin because I also had to pay for several others whose parents couldn't foot the bill. Something is wrong with this picture.
President Obama gets it. Here are excerpts from the email the White House sent out before his news conference two days ago. Note how he uses the term "health insurance" instead of "health care":
As you read this, we are closer than ever to passing comprehensive health insurance reformthat benefits American families and small businesses....
That's why I'm holding a press conference tonight at 8pm ET, and writing to let everyone know where we are, what's ahead, and why health insurance reform is so important.
If you already have health insurance: reform will provide you with more security and stability. ... You'll also have affordable insurance options if you lose or change your job.
If you don't have health insurance: you will finally have guaranteed access to quality, affordable health care, and you can choose the plan that best suits your family's needs....
... we cannot control our long-term fiscal health as a nation without health insurance reform. American families and small businesses understand that the health insurance status quo is taking away those things that they value most about health care....
We have to seize this opportunity and pass health insurance reform this year....
P.S. Tune in to tonight's press conference on health insurance reform at 8pm ET on WhiteHouse.gov.
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