Late last night, the House approved by a narrow margin of 219 to 212 sweeping changes to the nation's health system. It was the final showdown of a long, bloody battle--one that sharply divided Congress, and even the nation. But the conversation about health care reform has really only just begun, as we implement the reform, witness its impact and build upon its foundation.
In anticipation of Sunday's vote, YPNation contributor Ryan Lynch, 28, and a consultant at the non-profit Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse, asked of the YPNation team what they thought the impact of the insurance mandate would be.
I am not a health care analyst. Although I dabbled in macro health-related policy in graduate school, I could tell you very little about the intricacies of our health care system. But this post really doesn't have much to do with health care policy, rather it's my take as to how we got to where we are today.
American children who have health insurance through their family plan will be able to stay on as dependents until their 26th birthday, under the expansion of the health care bill.
As with any bill jerked around for half a year in the democratic process and packed with side-deals, last week's momentous health care legislation has its perks and its flaws. There's still no public option, but recent college graduates will soon be able to ride their parents' insurance until they turn 27. Meanwhile, the pro-choice movement made no headway when it comes to a woman's right to have an abortion--if anything, they lost ground.
Invincible is the final studio album released by Michael Jackson in 2001. Invincible is also a feel-good underdog football movie released in 2006, starring Mark Wahlberg. But more to my point, Invincible is a young Image Comics superhero. Why is this relevant? Because there is a real life group of Young Invincibles--the 13 million young adults (ages 19 to 29) in America who do not have health insurance.
Last Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the Recovery Act, also known as the "stimulus." In the midst of the political gridlock that has stalled health care reform, it is easy to forget that President Obama started off his term with what undeniably was a major legislative accomplishment. In fact, the Recovery Act was one of the largest progressive achievements of our time, and one wonders whether Obama would still be considered ineffectual if it had been broken down into smaller pieces and passed individually throughout last year, rather than all at once. The media, after all, has a very short attention span, and tends to forget success quite easily.
The way we look at food in this country is changing. Mounting evidence shows that we need to start eating food that is fresher and less processed if we want to improve our health and our environment.
When Alex Yates, a marketing consultant, relocated two years ago to the Chicago area from San Diego he joined a running club. He had been a member of a track club in San Diego, and eyed the Chicago Area Runners Association, or CARA, as a way to integrate into his new community.
Last week Gallup published results from a study on how a lack of an emotional bond between coworkers can lead to lower productivity and mental illnesses such as anxiety or depression. Gallup interviewed millions of workers in hundreds of companies around the world and found that no social reward can quickly translate into a lack of interest in doing work. Employers may want to take notice--worker health issues can have direct economic consequences.
"For as long as most of us have been old enough to donate blood, the American Red Cross has been under a federal court order to improve the way it collects and processes blood. That is because the organization repeatedly fails its reviews by the FDA. (Because it provides a critical health service, it is allowed to continue to supply blood to patients.) Unfortunately, the problems with the Red Cross do not end there. The conditions under which its workers operate are, well, just as frightening."
With a growing chorus of support for the establishment of an independent budget commission, I thought it wise to weigh in. But before we get to the budget commission itself, let's first discuss the underlying policy issue: deficits.
For spectator sports, there's no comparison. It's a game that unites and divides people across the world for reasons that often have very little to do with the beautiful game itself. Football, soccer, футбол, fùtbol. There's nothing like it.
