To view more information about national health coverage, go to the Medicaid and Medicare Web sites.

To learn about who's qualified for Wisconsin BadgerCare, view their  fact sheet on eligibility.

To read about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care plan, view her American Health Choices Plan Web page.

Read about Senator Barack Obama's plan for the future of health care on his issues Web site.

To read about Mayor Rudy Giuliani's plans for health care in the United States, go to his commitment Web page.

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Rising costs raise questions about health care system

By Amy Hardy
UW-Eau Claire Public Affairs Reporting Student
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007

  Audio version of this story
 

Every time that Leah Thompson-Feirn, a student at Northland College, goes to the doctor she fears that the bill will push her finances past their already strained limit. Her parent’s insurance covers her, but just barely.

The insurance only covers prescriptions, not office visits, and soon, after Thompson-Feirn graduates, even that will be gone.

"I'm really afraid of not being covered. I have ADHD,” she said, referring to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, "and without my prescriptions I can't function, I can't get to work. They're already so expensive with the insurance, there's no way I could afford them without it," Thompson-Feirn said.

Thompson-Feirn is not alone in this fear. Many college and high school students face this same dilemma as they graduate from school and their parent’s insurance no longer covers them. And it's not just students who dread being without insurance.

Even people who don't consider themselves interested in politics find themselves talking about health care in the United States and possible ways to fix or improve it.

Currently there are several government-run programs for those who cannot afford an independent insurer and whose employers do not offer them insurance. Medicare and Medicaid are the two major national programs.

Medicare provides assistance for people 65 and older and people below 65 with certain disabilities, while Medicaid provides assistance for low-income families and individuals.

Many states have implemented their own health care assistance programs in addition to Medicare and Medicaid. Wisconsin residents who fit the criteria can apply for BadgerCare, a program that insures families with minors.

Madison resident Jamie Beck recently gave birth to her first child and applied for benefits under BadgerCare.

So far, Beck said, half of the process has been waiting and guessing “It took a month for my baby’s paperwork to go through, then another few weeks after I moved to get the new card, she said. I don’t know who to call, and half the time the people I do call tell me to call someone else. It’s starting to get really frustrating and confusing, but I’m still glad to have it.”

Wisconsin residents who do not meet the requirements for any of the government programs and cannot to pay for insurance themselves often find themselves completely without insurance.

In 2004, according to the US Census Bureau, 45.8 million people in the United States were uninsured. That’s 15.7 percent of the total population. This is a nationwide problem, and presidential candidates for the 2008 elections have outlined plans for repairs to, or complete replacement of, the current health care system. Many of these plans include universal health care plans.

Universal health care plans call for the U.S. government to provide health care to all citizens. Income bracket or age world not affect coverage. Similar systems are already in place in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and many other countries.

In the July Democratic primary debate, Sen. Barack Obama spoke of his plans to implement a universal health care program. Sen.Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a similar plan.

Sen. Clinton's plan, as layed out on her Web page, provides tax credits for families and small businesses to keep plans affordable. Families would only have to pay a limited percent of their income in order to receive coverage. The plan does not require insurance companies to change their coverage, but no company would be able to deny coverage to any citizens.

According to Sen. Obama's Web page, his plan focuses on preventative health care and modernizing the health care system in order to keep costs down. His plan creates a new national health plan that would include guaranteed eligibility, a benefit package that covers all essential medical services, and premiums, co-pays and deductibles that make insurance affordable.

Both Sen. Clinton's and Sen. Obama's plans provide for plan portability. This allows people to change jobs without changing insurance coverer. Their plan will move with them.

In the 2007 Republican debate, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani took a different approach. His plan calls for tax cuts and benefits that would allow people to buy their own insurance, rather than have the government provide it. 

Colleen Ladell, a student at Beloit College, says that candidate's health care plans will be the deciding issue for her vote. “Something really has to change. This is getting ridiculous,” Ladell said.

College students across the country who graduate this year are dreading the moment when their parents' insurance no longer covers them and they become uninsured. Many, like Ladell, are simply hoping that once that coverage is gone, they don’t have an accident or acquire a condition that requires medical care.

"If anything happens when I'm on my own, if I get in an accident or suddenly get sick, I don't know what I'd do," Ladell said. "It's terrifying."