When did the phrase "health care reform" become a euphemism for socialism? Based on the proclamations we've witnessed at town hall meetings across the nation, it would seem citizens of this great capitalist nation are satisfied with the present health care system.  Of course, many of the attendees have been recruited by right wing groups opposed to health care reform, but why mention this nettlesome point and undermine the staunch defenders of our great capitalist nation?

How many of us really know what any of this means? How many Americans can easily define the terms and phrases that comprise the health care reform debate? It's easy and pat to describe national health care reform as a turn to socialism, but it's far more difficult for folks on the right or the left to deftly describe what reform entails. If anyone is truly interested in the lexicon of health care reform, please purchase a copy of "Health Care Reform Terms: An Explanatory Glossary of Words, Phrases, & Acronyms Used in Today's U.S. "Health Care Reform" Movement" by Vergil N. Slee and Debora A. Slee. The book is a succinct 118 pages and it's a glossary. A 118 page glossary -  are you kidding me?  

Here is where the story gets even more confusing. Having heard, more than once, that the United States is home to the greatest medical care in the world - why does the United States rank 50th in the world in life expectancy? According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Fact Book, the average life expectancy for an American citizen is 78.11 years. For those folks who do not want a health care system that resembles Canada's, Canadians enjoy the eighth highest life expectancy rate in the world (81.23 years). On average, our "socialist" neighbors to the north live three years longer than their capitalist cousins to the south.

Of course, a higher life expectancy rate does not mean that health care is better in Canada than it is in the United States. There are a host of factors that determine the life expectancy rate: access to affordable health care, environmental factors, diet and exercise, stress levels and overall quality of life. But it is shocking to see the United States ranked 50th in the world and Albania ranked 51st.

The forces arrayed against health care reform have done an amazing job of tapping into fear and framing the issue as a call to American patriotism. From the town hall meetings with weapon-wielding American "patriots" standing vigilant outside meeting spaces, we have heard abject fear accompanied by a perceived threat of losing privilege or status in what is projected to be President Obama's socialist state. Reminiscent of Hillary Clinton's bid for a universal health care plan in 1993, the forces opposed to reforming the nation's health care system have done a much better job of leading the debate, and framing efforts to reform as threats to the American way of life. It appears the Obama White House has lost its ability to lead the discussion.

Forty years ago, my father did not pay for health insurance. The company he worked for provided health insurance to all of its employees and their families. My father did not have to provide a co-pay for a doctor's visit, he did not have to his see his primary physician to get a referral to see a specialist, he did not have to pay a co-pay for a prescription and he did not contribute one dollar to his health insurance plan. Now, we live in a world where we constantly outlay money for health insurance and health care.

Most people receive a paycheck that shows an itemized deduction for health insurance, but the person who is making $100,000 is contributing the same amount to his company's health insurance plan as is the person making $40,000, if they both select the same plan. For the majority of Americans, the current health care system is a bad deal.

Most Americans are already being "taxed" when it comes to health insurance through employee contributions, but in the current system and using the above example, lower wage earners are being taxed at a higher rate proportionate to their income. A recent 22-year-old college graduate could be paying the same amount in health insurance costs as a 45-year-old corporate executive, but there are people advocating for little or no change.

We will see modest health care reform, which will be a step in the right direction. Will Obama and the Democrats be able to effectively silence right wing groups who position each element of change as a threat to the American way of life? Probably not, but the current economic climate has made health care reform essential to our nation's economic future. 

Then again, we do live longer than Albanians.  

A Healthy Ms. Albania