By: Kristen Kinchla, Elisabeth Smith, Matt Downs

Background 16% (45 million people) of Americans have no health insurance. Comprehensive national health care reform died in congress in Only 14% of Americans receive some form of public health care. Today insurance companies only provide limited amounts of health care to those who are insured.

Issue About 100,000 Americans die from medical errors in hospitals. Over 45 million Americans including over 8 million children lack health insurance. Many Americans go without high-value preventive services, such as cancer screening and immunizations to protect against flu or pneumonia.

Cost Inefficient and poor quality care costs the nation at least $50 to $100 billion every year. Healthcare spending is expected to double within the next decade with our current system. Billions more are wasted on administration and overhead because of inefficiencies in the health care system. Skyrocketing health care costs are making it increasingly difficult for employers, particularly small businesses, to provide health insurance to their employees thus making it nearly impossible for the employee’s family to receive any from of care..

The Future If the new health reform were to fail, Businesses could see their health care costs double within 10 years. Individuals and families would see their health care costs dramatically increase. Up to 67 million people would be uninsured. If the new health reform were to succeed, Millions more people would have insurance. The rate of health care cost increase would drop, or maybe even prices will go down. Millions of more people would have much more affordable, consistent health care.

Democratic View Points “We wish to make sure everyone has access to affordable health care. We will join 36 other industrialized nations in making sure everyone has access to affordable health care, starting by fixing the prescription drug program and investing in stem cell and other medical research. In the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth, no one should have to choose between taking their child to a doctor and paying the rent. Democrats are committed to making sure every single American has access to affordable, effective health care coverage. We want to ensure our seniors can afford their prescription drugs. We also believe in investing in life saving stem cell and other medical research that offers real hope for cures and treatment for millions of Americans.”

Republican View Points “We reject any notion of government-run universal health care because we have seen evidence from around the world that government-run health care leads to inefficiencies, long waiting periods, and often substandard health care. We applaud efforts by President Bush and the Republican Congress to reform the broken medical liability system that is raising health care costs and limiting patients’ access to doctors” Doctors who are being driven out of their practices by excessive medical liability costs.

Citations ans.us ans.us tm tm Health Insurance News. N.P., n.d. Web. 12 Feb The Urban Institute, Health Reform: The Cost of Failure. May 21, 2009 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 2/11/11. Foley, Timothy. What Happens if Reform Fails. August 8, 2009 Change.Org. 2/11/11. Houston Red Cross. American Red Cross, n.d. Web. 12 Feb DeNoto, Matt. "To Your Health." The Golden Spiral. N.P, 20 Aug Web. 12 Feb Democratic Party on Healthcare. On the Issues. 2/11/11.