Hello World

How is everyone doing out there, I hope you are all healthy and well. Speaking of health, it seems that it is becoming a much talked about topic in the media lately specifically the healthcare bill being propose by the Obama administration. So I thought to myself why not join the conversation and the nasty debate by creating my own blog on the subject. What makes me intrigued by this topic and makes me want to pursue it further is mainly influenced by my experience during the summer.

Over the summer I was fortunate enough to be an intern for our very own Senator Barbara Boxer of California (vote Boxer for 2010!). As many of you know, or at least I hope you know, that Senator Boxer is a prominent Democrat and known supporter of healthcare reform. Well during my time with the Senator I was given the task of normal office work involving answer calls, update data bases, file constituents’ letters and helping the legislative staff. Although this all seemed very normal and a part of typical office obligations, answering phone calls from a number of constituents made me aware of many political topics and issues. I would on average answer 100 to 200 calls a day all from constituents giving their two cents about the issues of the day. When healthcare was introduced to the House and Senate I found myself bombarded by angry constituent calls all mostly opposing the bill claiming that it was a socialist system that is going to give insurance to immigrants, have death panels, and pay for abortion. At the same time I also heard support for a public option and for reform of the current system. By taking in these calls day in and day out I took a heighten interest in the issue and followed it closely. Healthcare is a major concern of mine; I myself, for a period of time, found myself sick and uninsured. So having no healthcare provided me with a new perspective on the importance of health reform not only for my benefit but for the benefit of the millions of uninsured people that may not be able to pay for insurance during these tough and difficult times.

Therefore I would like to further investigate the issue of healthcare reform by both taking a look at the different aspects of the reform and also to analyze the general reaction of the American people towards the recent developments occurring on Capitol Hill on healthcare. Therefore possible topics covered on this blog will include taking an in-depth look at the topic and how it has become over the years a pressing political issue. In addition, we will take a closer look at the bill currently causing all this commotion in America and discover the real truth about the healthcare bill and dismiss any false information floating around in the media. Not only are we going to discuss the bill but we will also discuss the reaction this bill has caused throughout America. In addition to studying the healthcare system in America, we will take a look at other “socialized” healthcare systems in other countries such as Canada, Great Britain, Sweden, etc. and discuss if these systems can be applicable to our very own nation. So we will dive into the healthcare issue and hopefully become more enlighten on this issue that is captivating the nation.