There’s a storm brewing, but if frequently sits below the radar. It seems that, while quite important, it has been getting less attention than it deserves. I’m not referring to Global Warming, or some other hot topic. Those items seems to be getting their due attention at this point.

I’m referring to healthcare, or lack thereof. It wasn’t too long ago that healthcare was affordable to many people who had a semi-decent job. For those that didn’t, there was medicaid. That’s not how it is now. Why?

Many of us look at the cost of healthcare that is provided by our employer and decide that paying our bills and keeping a roof over our heads seems a better idea, and that we will ‘take our chances’. Good idea? Probably not, but what else can be done.

The insurance provider from my employer recently stated that they are out of the red from a couple of years ago, and now they have a surplus. What do we get from it? Lower premiums? No, we now get Health Coaches ‘free of charge’. I hate to say this, but when $600 a month comes out of your pay every month, it’s not free.

And what about the insurance act the Gov. Schwarzenegger is working on? Well, it seems a step in the right direction. Free healthcare to children – A great idea! At the expense of the physicians? Not so great. Physicians earn their money. They do a good job, they should get paid well.

So how do you fund such and endeavour? How about restrictions on healthcare to an individual based on how they choose to live their lives? Smokers pay more, etc.. How about paying less for illegal residents, that don’t pay taxes anyway? If they need to go to the hospital, and they don’t have residential status, they get shipped home upon being treated. How about refining the laws in order to reduce the number of unnecessary malpractice claims (you know the ads from TV – everybody wants to sue someone).

The debate is a good one, and now is the time to get involved. Many are now going without insurance, just because it’s not affordable. It’s time to fix the system.