Current Event #2

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33161911/ns/politics-health_care_reform//

Health care bills could mean hardship for many
Middle-class Americans would still struggle to pay insurance

This article covers the current issue of affordable health care insurance for all. Currently Obama is trying to change health insurance so that all Americans would be required to get insurance, whether it be through work, government programs, or paying for it themselves. With the proposed plans, a big empasis of government subsides is being given to those families who are classified as poor- families of four averaging a total family income of $22,000 or less a year. Wealthy Americans would also have no problem paying for health insurance. The problem, however, is that the middle class Americans seem to being getting forgotten. As a family's total income increases, the amount that the government would give for breaks in health insurance in subsides greatly decreases. Middle class families with solid incomes would not be given nearly enough help to cover the cost of insurance. For a lot of families, this would be fine since most big employers generally pay for health care through work. However, this would be a major problem for those middle class families who are self-employed or work through a small buisness. Clearly, this plan needs to be looked at again. If Obama's goal is to be sure all Americans have coverage, all social groups need to be taken care of. I feel like this is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to make sure that middle class Americans aren't paying a huge chunk of their salary towards health care while others are only paying a small fraction. No groups should be left behind.