[READ BELOW: How California Is Affected By This Issue]

If you’re anything like I used to be, you’re completely unaware of the federal health care reform issues and who will really be affected. But being unconcerned and remaining apathetic to health care issues is dangerous and may help create bigger problems..  While once I may have been apathetic to the issue myself, one thing I was fully aware of prompted me to finally learn more about the subject. I knew that whatever the politicians decide on the health care issue, it will definitely have an effect on me, personally. Some who may be reading this might not have come to that realization YET!

Many Americans are unconcerned and not informed about this issue because they don’t believe the outcome will affect them, one way or another. “I have an excellent health plan at work. I don’t have to worry about the cost of health care” or “My husband’s job has a pretty good health care plan. It takes care of all our family’s medical needs, so we’re not really concerned”. If you have made a statement similar to this, or even just thought it to yourself, you are in for a rude awakening. You may be shocked when you read a little further and discover how the federal health care reform issue will actually affect you and your family.  What you learn will cause you to be anything but unconcerned or apathetic to the current health care issues many Americans face each day.

Before you continue reading this information about the hot topic of federal heath care reform, you will need to adjust your view about who will really be affected.  Since you may have been thinking that it really has nothing to do with you, your brain has managed to shut out the controversial health care issues that have been flooding the airways and also cyberspace.  You have subconsciously managed to steer clear of this unpleasant topic, so your apathy for the subject allows you to justify your sitting on the fence of the issue.  Whether you choose to remain apathetic to the current health care issues that are plaguing our nation will be dependent on how much concern you have for those OUTSIDE of your immediate family and friendship circle.  If you are prepared to widen out in your views on the topic in general, you be in a better position to receive the facts open and honestly.

That means letting go of the naïve impression that you have about your current health care plan at work. No matter how good or “excellent” it may appear now, either way the pendulum swings, your current medical plan’s existence is indirectly dependent on the right solution for those directly affected. That means, you want to be very interested in what the politicians decide about health care reform. But keep in mind as well, the outcome could be a bad thing, in terms of your own situation, OR it could end up being a better outcome for you, even if you already have good health coverage. The point is, be aware that you and your family are going to be affected, as will millions of Americans. You now have a vested interest in the outcome. Began gathering the facts, just as you would about anything else that would have an affect on you and your loved ones.

A lot of people (those who are not so apathetic to the situation), are hot under the collar about changes to health care if they feel their current situation is not in need of reform. “I like my plan just the way it is. Why should I have to suffer because someone else can’t afford to take care of their health care?” Some people could care less if other family’s medical needs are met or not. Not everyone believes a good health care plan should be available to those who can’t afford one. Sad to say, this is the mindset of a lot of people, whether they feel emboldened enough to voice it or not. The fact of the matter is, whether you “should” have to suffer over someone else’s lack of heath care is debatable, but why you do have to suffer if someone else can’t afford adequate health care is a simple matter of cause and affect.

In the same way that a high incident of auto accidents cause automobile insurance premiums to rise, medical insurance rates to rise, hospital costs to rise, and so on.

Injuries on the job cause worker’s compensation insurance for businesses to escalate, surgical procedures to rise, malpractice insurance to increase, and so on and so on and so on.

The decline in watching dvds at home force the price of DVD Players down, so buying dvd’s are cheaper, businesses lose on DVD items, so they up the price of other products to compensate. You get the picture.

On the other hand, being part of the solution that makes affordable health care for every American will ultimately have a positive affect on your own health care plan. If it’s a good one, it can only stay that way, if other, less fortunate individuals are adequately provided for. If you care if they are provided for is important, but whether you do or not, you are affected when other people can not afford to take care of their sick children, and other loved ones.

Now that you have chosen to start examining the topic of health care insurance, from the perspective of someone less fortunate, your concern will start to grow.  It's not so easy to remain unconcerned and apathetic to such a crucial topic, once you allow yourself to learn the key issues involved.  A valid attempt to gather all the facts will begin to  help you sort out the truth from the rumors.   One way or the other, you will want to take a stand on the issues, once you have accurate knowledge of the situation.

The examples that were mentioned earlier are just a few indications of how cause and affect is an eventuality. For every cause, there is an affect, so in the case of the heath care reform issue, the key is determining which affect you believe will have the least fallout, and picking a side. One thing that will help you do this, is to examine the other side of the coin of your current health care situation. Consider the possible long term affects, not just the immediate ones. For Example:

Those who feel “whether or not other people can afford health care is not MY problem” have not thought about what will eventually happen if:

Children don’t get proper medical treatment for conditions that include communicable diseases. They come to school undiagnosed and spread whatever they contract.

People who are on a daily regiment of medication that their bodies require, but they can no longer afford their prescriptions. Some of those people (or at least their loved ones) will resort to whatever means necessary to get the medication they need for their family.

Their own situation drastically changes for the worst, and they find themselves or someone they care about without adequate health coverage. They may not even be aware of how high health costs are right now, because they aren’t paying any out of pocket expenses. But once you’re faced with how YOU have to pay for a sick child or buy regular and costly prescriptions for your aged parents, the picture looks differently.

More examples could be given, each one more detailed and controversial than the next. But the point would be the same. A long line of negative chain reactions can result if we allow this issue to get more out of hand than it already is. If readers of this information do nothing else, it’s time to take a long hard look at the issues, so you can cast an informed vote. And when you do so, keep in mind the questions pertaining to possible results if the cost of health care becomes less affordable than it already is. Attaining good health care needs to be something that every human being, especially children and senior citizens have a right to. No matter how much money they did or did not have, you’d want it for your own child or grandparent if their life hung in the balance.

The best way to make an informed decision is to get informed! As was already mentioned, you can no longer expect to remain unconcerned about other Americans who cannot afford suitable health care coverage, and expect your own circumstances not to change. So try taking the following five steps to help increase your knowledge on the topic of health care and the reform plan that President Obama has adopted as a solution.

1. Read information about the current reform plans that lawmakers believe may be potential solutions to health care
2. View videos of various discussions on the issue, to try and get better clarification from lawmakers and health professionals
3. Make sure you have a CLEAR ideal of both sides of the issue, and determine which side you are most leaning toward
4. Do additional research on the side you feel best reflects the interest of not just you, but friends and extended family as well (you want them healthy also)
5. Do something to show your solidarity for the side of the health care reform issue you have chosen. If you support it, say it (try a good bumper sticker)

The issue of health care reform is not just one of the hottest issues today, but one of the most important issues that the American people have faced. Sometimes, when we think about the term health care reform, or health care in general, we don’t really think about what all it includes. It’s not just about being able to go to the doctor when you’re sick, or the hospital when you’re seriously ill. This issue is also about:

• Children and Seniors regular health check ups
• Children and Seniors regular dental visits
• Children and Seniors regular eye exams & glasses
• Prenatal Care

• Communicable diseases (TB / Hepatitis / Pneumonia)
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• Mental Health

The above examples are just a drop in the bucket when it comes to the areas that will directly be affected by the results of health care reform. All these things have the potential to have an adverse affect on this country as a whole. If ALL the American people would really start thinking about some of the "worst case scenarios" surrounding this whole health care fiasco, no one could possibly remain apathetic to the issue of health care reform. Everyone would be more concerned about the problem if they considered the thought of prescription drug related violence escalating, or hundreds of thousands of people walking around with undiagnosed STD's, and other communicable diseases.  I doubt that anyone would remain apathetic to the issue of health care, under those circumstances.

Thinking about just your own family’s medical needs for the time being, may end up hurting you in the long run. You may feel your company has a good health care plan, and there’s no need to change it, but a truly GOOD health care plan, is one that considers the needs of everyone’s health, not just those who can afford to pay the cost. Whether you share this opinion or not, is your personal choice, but one thing you will no doubt, by now agree. No matter where you stand on the issue of health care reform, you can no longer continue to sit on the fence and not expect to be affected.

As a means of dispelling the rumors and myths surrounding what his current plan for reform would entail, President Obama provided the following FACTS:

• Illegal immigrants will not be covered under the current proposed health care reform plan.
• Abortion laws that are currently in place that ban using tax dollars for these procedures will not be changed.
• Government take over is not the plan or the objective of the proposed health care reform plan, but rather, preventing insurance companies from continuing their corrupt practices.
• The controversial Public Option issue is just one option available in the plan, and it is to prevent any one insurance carrier from dominating the market.

Of course, as with any debate, and especially something so controversial as medical care for the people you love, this story has two sides to it. While most Americans would agree that some kind of change to the current health care system is needed, not all agree with President Obama’s current solution. However, since I have gotten off the fence and taken my own stand, I don’t choose to show their viewpoints here, but by all means check them out for yourself so you’ll have both views.  You can find a wealth of information in the following news feed.

The growing issue of adequate and affordable health care for Californians has become a seriously heated debate. According to a Los Angeles Times news report just this past May 2009, "Healthcare cuts would mean higher costs and possibly deaths, officials warn" The report said cuts in various funding would end medical insurance for at least 2 million Californians. This is the belief of health officials and patients who spoke to a legislative panel. They told officials that some at-risk residents might not survive the loss of programs.

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