And another thing ...
When we asked your opinion of what should be done about health care, the opinions were as vocal as they were diverse.
The almost 100 people who responded to The Beacon-News survey that led to this five-part series ranged in age from their 20s through their 80s, from folks struggling to get by to folks making six digits a year. But most respondents felt something needs to be done.
(Heather Eidson/Staff Photographer)
• About this series
• Comment: Share your thoughts
• Day 1: When illness strikes
• Day 2: How to pay for reform?
• Day 3: Uninsured: No safety net
• Day 4: Can tort reform save health care?
As the health care debate rages in Washington, we asked for your thoughts about this controversial issue. The response was overwhelming. Hundreds of you wrote, e-mailed or went online to share your feelings. This series addresses the issues you’re most passionate about.
• Sunday: When illness strikes
Even those with insurance aren’t protected from financial and emotional disaster.
• Monday: Don’t take my money
Many taxpayers don’t trust the government to fix the problem; nor do they want to bear the burden of those uninsured.
• Tuesday: Speaking of uninsured
Those who can’t afford health insurance want more options than disability or welfare.
• Wednesday: Fire the lawyers
Some are convinced tort reform could go far in fixing our health care woes.
• Thursday: Your suggestions
So how do you really feel? We look at more of your concerns.
There were just different opinions of what that something should be.
Genny Montes, of Aurora, wrote that she wants to see a public option like the one proposed by President Obama.
"(I) just would like an option available for people who are like me, who can't afford very much but need something," she wrote.
Others agreed with Jerry Snapp from North Aurora or "Bob" from Somonauk.
"Get government out of health care!" Snapp wrote.
"Get the government OUT OF IT," "Bob" wrote.
Despite the number of respondents who simply wrote that government was bad or insurance companies greedy, one business owner from Geneva took a more nuanced approach, saying people have to come to a consensus on what the actual problem is before any change can come.
"Many people have great ideas on how to change things, but they (are) simply dealing with symptoms and not actually addressing the actual cause or problem," the business owner wrote.
One idea from the surveys was a move to electronic medical records, an idea health consultant Terri Jacobsen of Aurora supports.
"Technology is going to make change in health care possible," she said.
Jacobsen left a career in nursing and health information systems a few years ago to open her own in-home health care business, Comfort Keepers of Elgin. She said computerized legal medical records means reducing medical errors and improving the continuity and quality of patient care.
"The one thing everyone agrees about is electronic medical records," she said.
Other respondents had more creative ideas about where the money for health care reform should come from.
"All Americans should pay for a portion of their health care through import taxes imposed on all goods now manufactured overseas," wrote Paul Hartsuch, a sales manager from Geneva.
Martha Hanna, a paraprofessional from Batavia, wrote health care should be funded by higher taxes ... on soft drinks and fast food.
Nicole Wickham from Aurora suggested everyone get on a system where people pay only $503 or less a year but get excellent coverage for all medical ailments.
Sound impossible? It's the taxpayer-subsidized health coverage U.S. congressmen receive.
Every individual respondent seemed to know the culprit behind the health care quagmire — greedy insurance companies, greedy lawyers, greedy doctors, greedy drug companies, Obama, Bush, capitalism, socialism, being like Canada, not being enough like Canada or good old illegal immigrants.
But the result of adding all this noise together was best summed up by a retiree from North Aurora who, when asked what changes he or she would like to see, simply responded, "Do not know."
