Hot topic: Health Care Coverage

Get ready.

For the next two years, one of (if not THE) hottest topic is and will be health care coverage. It seems every week, there is another state announcing plans to offer coverage for the uninsured in their state. This week alone, there were three articles in The New York Times regarding this topic ("Groups Offer Health Plan for Coverage of Uninsured," "Pennsylvania Governor Pushes Health Plan", and "Bush to Urge New Tax Plan for Health Care Coverage").

Now, some plans seem plausible and can benefit their intended audience – ie. those that are uninsured (such as Gov. Schwarzenegger's healthcare plan for California)—but others may partially help the uninsured while actually hurting those who are already insured (such as in President Bush's health care plan that he will be addressing in this Tuesday's State of the Union address).

Universal health care is not an easy feat (especially now that we are trillions of dollars in debt) but we're glad it is now coming to the forefront. Perhaps, the best plan would be to allow the states to offer their own universal health plan while the federal government uses it clout to lower healthcare expenses, such as by negotiating lower prescription drug prices, allowing the importation of prescription drugs from outside the US, or even allowing companies to produce generic version of drugs that have had their patents expire. These are all ways in which the federal government can help--- but they don't --yet.