Guest column: Keeping the option open

When I was 13 years old, doctors diagnosed me with cancer. I was covered under my parents' insurance policy. Because of this, we were not forced to pay all the medical bills out of pocket. Also, because I was able to take preventative measures with yearly visits to my doctor, it was easier for the doctors to find my tumor at an early stage and treat it quickly. Today, I am 20 years old and healthy.

But I am very lucky. If I were like millions of other Americans, my insurance company would have dropped my coverage because I had become a "risky" case. If I applied for a different insurance company, they would not have taken me because I had a pre-existing condition.

In this case, my parents would be forced to pay all the medical expenses out of pocket because there would be nowhere else for me to go. Due to the high and increasing costs of medical treatment, this would have most certainly caused my parents to file for bankruptcy. 

Here is the problem: The United States spends more per capita than any other industrialized nation in the world on health care. According to research by the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund, the United States also ranks last in quality of health care and the number of preventable deaths.

Compared to 19 other industrialized nations, including Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the U.K., not only are Americans paying more, but we also have a lower life expectancy and higher rates of obesity and infant mortality.

We can no longer sit back and let this happen. Something needs to be done. This is where the public option, which is government-run insurance that would compete with private insurers, comes in to play. It ensures real competition within the health insurance industry, which is dominated by a handful of major insurance corporations, and it provides coverage for all citizens while lowering costs.

As the state's student coordinator for Organizing for America, the White House's grassroots campaign, I have heard critics claim this will lead to socialism, often citing cases like Canada and the U.K. However, these people fail to realize certain issues. 

First, Canada and the U.K. have a single-payer system, and the government runs the entire system. A public option ensures a government-run plan competes and coexists with privately run insurance companies, as is the case with Germany and Japan. Second, although patients in Canada and the U.K. may wait in long lines to receive treatment, at least they have coverage. They are not denied or rationed care.

It is undeniable that the situation in the United States needs to be fixed. Businesses are paying much more on health care per worker than the foreign average, increasing their outsourcing rates and taking away American jobs. Hospitals are forced to pay more to cover patients who arrive at the emergency room without insurance. Taxpayers pay more for these ER patients whose problems could have been cured earlier and for less cost if preventative care had been an option.

This university is taking action. To limit students' financial liability and help them stay in school when faced with a health emergency, a new school policy mandates all incoming freshman and transfer students taking six or more credits to provide proof of health insurance or purchase coverage through the university's student health insurance plan. This is a positive first step. But it's time to take a positive first step on the national level and that starts with the public option.

Although a reform bill recently passed in the House of Representatives, it will be tougher to pass in the Senate. Now is the time we take action, make our voices heard and urge our senators to support the public option.

Ashwani Jain is a junior general business and government and politics major. He can be reached at ashwani81289 at yahoo dot com.