It’s a topic that’s been all over the news recently: health care. There have been town hall meetings across the U.S. with debates on the issue.

Since President Obama’s inauguration in January, the lingering issue in the political spotlight has been health care reform. The debate has major implications affecting the social, political and economic nature of our country. It can be hard to understand what it all means, and how this will affect the future of the students here at Creighton.

Many studies have been done on the recent trend of health care coverage in the U.S. To examine these trends, we must first understand the basic labels of the types of care people are receiving. When referring to individuals that are uninsured, it means that they have no current coverage, which includes any company or the government. When speaking about someone who is underinsured, this means that they have coverage but there are restrictions, such as the areas of coverage or limits on the amount of service they can have.

According to studies done by the Commonwealth Fund, 46 million Americans were uninsured at the beginning of the current economic crisis and as many as 55 million were in uninsured in the past year. In addition to that, it is estimated that currently 25 million working adults are underinsured. The worry among most politicians is that these numbers will continue to increase as well as the cost.

While health care is a major concern of the U.S., is it not one that has an easy solution. Lawmakers are struggling with the dilemma of what the government can do and should do with the health system.

The Obama administration is at the forefront of new health care legislation that would attempt to provide a new marketplace for the uninsured by providing tax credits to help them purchase insurance, as well as offering a public health insurance option to account for those who can’t afford to buy it.

“I believe the government should cover all uninsured Americans by offering subsidies based on one’s income in order to obtain insurance coverage,” said College Democrats President Beth Johnson. “By doing these things, health care can become more affordable.”

As for those who already have health insurance, the plan says it will end discrimination against those with pre-existing conditions. Many in the Republican Party oppose this notion, claiming it will bring in a more inefficient system by having a public option. This argument is based on countries, such as Canada, whose public options have caused some patients to wait for treatment much longer than what they would in the U.S.

Another issue is the claim that the plan will cause costs to skyrocket.

“The biggest effect this will have on the entire generation of college students is the tremendous deficit that this program will create . . . also they will in turn ultimately receive an inferior product,” said College Republicans President Nick McEvoy.

Regardless of one’s opinion, many just wanted to find out how it will affect students, currently and in the future, once they are in the real world. Sue Crawford, associate professor of political science, says there are two proposals that have the potential to directly affect Creighton students. The first possibility is geared toward students with family coverage, as the plan may make it easier for students to stay on their parent’s plan.

“If the final version of the bill relaxes the standard 12 credit hour rule, then students would be more free to drop classes or go through school more slowly,” said Crawford. This would especially help students who work full-time outside of school to pay their tuition.

Those students who do not have family coverage would then be required to get coverage, but since Creighton already requires full-time students to have health insurance plans, it wouldn’t be a major change.

This past Monday, the Honors Program Student Advisory Board sponsored an event called Health Care Reform: Beyond the Rhetoric, in which professors interacted with students for a discussion forum on the whole issue. Many different viewpoints were found in the conversation.

“I think very few people think the system now is acceptable, but I’m not convinced the bills in Congress will make things better,” said Ats & Sciences junior Adam Kachelski.

Other students wanted to focus on the heart of the problem.

“Until you put a face to the problem and identify what’s wrong, social change is never going to be accomplished,” said Arts & Sciences junior Stefanie Stedman.

Overall, many students found it a fascinating discussion and a refreshing take on a very complicated and controversial issue.

Even though this is a very broad issue, it is clear that the students at Creighton are getting very involved in the debate, which stretches across political, economic and social lines.

“It was a very eye-opening and illuminating discussion over the obstacles facing America’s future in health care,” said Arts & Sciences junior Matt Folchert of the students here at Creighton.

Many studies have been done on the recent trend of health care coverage in the U.S. To examine these trends, we must first understand the basic labels of the types of care people are receiving.

When referring to individuals who are uninsured, it means that they have no current coverage, which includes any company or the government. When speaking about someone who is underinsured, it means that they have coverage but there are restrictions, such as on the areas of coverage or limits on the amount of service available to them.

According to studies by the Commonwealth Fund, 46 million Americans were uninsured at the beginning of the current economic crisis, and as many as 55 million were uninsured during the past year. In addition, it is estimated that 25 million working adults are currently underinsured. The worry among most politicians is that these numbers will continue to increase, as well as the cost.

While health care is a major concern for the U.S., it is not one that has an easy solution. Lawmakers are struggling with the dilemma of what the government can and should do with the health system. The Obama Administration is at the forefront of new health care legislation that would attempt to provide a new marketplace for the uninsured by providing tax credits to help them purchase insurance, as well as offering a public health insurance option to account for those who can’t afford to buy it.

“I believe the government should cover all uninsured Americans by offering subsidies based on one’s income in order to obtain insurance coverage,” said Beth Johnson, College Democrats president. “By doing these things, health care can become more affordable.”

As for those who already have health insurance, the plan says it will end discrimination against those with pre-existing conditions. Many in the Republican Party oppose this notion, claiming a public option will bring in a more inefficient system. This argument is based on countries such as Canada, whose public options have cause

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some patients to wait for treatment much longer than in the U.S.

Another issue is the claim that the plan will cause costs to skyrocket.

“The biggest effect this will have on the entire generation of college students is the tremendous deficit that this program will create . . . also they will in turn ultimately receive an inferior product,” said Nick McEvoy, College Republicans president.

Regardless of one’s opinion, many just want to find out how it will affect students, currently and in the future, once they are in the real world. Sue Crawford, associate professor of Political Science, says there are two proposals that have the potential to directly affect Creighton students. The first possibility is geared toward students with family coverage, as the plan may make it easier for students to stay on their parents’ plan.

“If the final version of the bill relaxes the standard 12 credit hour rule, then students would be more free to drop classes or go through school more slowly,” Crawford said. This would especially help students who work full-time outside of school to pay their tuition.”

Those students who do not have family coverage would then be required to get coverage, but since Creighton already requires full-time students to have health insurance plans, it wouldn’t be a major change.

This past Monday, the Honors Program Student Advisory Board sponsored an event called Health Care Reform: Beyond the Rhetoric, in which professors interacted with students in a discussion forum on the whole issue. Many different viewpoints were found in the conversation.

“I think very few people think the system now is acceptable, but I’m not convinced the bills in Congress will make things better,” Arts & Sciences junior Adam Kachelski said.

Other students wanted to focus on the heart of the problem.

“Until you put a face to the problem and identify what’s wrong, social change is never going to be accomplished,” Arts & Sciences junior Stefanie Stedman said.

Overall, students found it a fascinating discussion and a refreshing take on a very complicated and controversial issue.

Even though this is a broad issue, it is clear that the students at Creighton are getting very involved in the debate, which stretches across political, economic and social lines.

“It was a very eye-opening and illuminating discussion over the obstacles facing America’s future in health care,” Arts & Sciences junior Matt Folchert said.