The following information was published in the August 2009 Consumer Reports. I am posting it here on 7DayBuzz because there may be those who do not read or subscribe to Consumer Reports, but are 7DayBuzz readers. I feel this information needs to be made available as there is much opposition and distorted information being disseminated about President Obama’s Health Reform.

FEAR #1: Health reform will let faceless government bureaucrats come between you and your doctor.
FACT #1: Private health insurance already comes between you and your doctor. And because each company sets its own rules, it’s hard to imagine a more bureaucratic system. Some insurers decide which doctors you can see, which hospitals you can visit, and what drugs you can take and still be covered. And they may require copious paperwork before approving a treatment you and your doctor want. Health-care reform would standardize claim procedures to cut down on all of that. And it would protect you from other abuses, like being rejected for coverage or paying exorbitant premiums if you get sick.

FEAR #2: Health reform will take away the good coverage from your job.
FACT #2: If you’re satisfied with your job-based coverage, you would be able to keep it. Employers who don’t offer insurance would either start to provide it or contribute to a fund that helps employees buy it on their own. Some small businesses would be eligible for subsidies to offset the cost. And every policy would offer at least a standard, easy-to-understand, comprehensive set of benefits like those your congress person now enjoys.

FEAR #3: Comparing the relative effectiveness of treatments and drugs will lead to rationing.
FACT #3: This issue flared up because Congress recently approve more funding for “comparative-effectiveness research.” The term refers to studies to evaluate which drugs or treatments work best for different medical conditions and different patients. That’s one more piece of information – based on science, not drug-company advertising or sales reps pushing pills – to help your doctor and you decide what’s right. Consumers Union has long argued for better health-care information. For an example, go to ConsumerReportsHealth.org and click on Best Buy Drugs. You’ll find free advice based on comparative-effectiveness research into which drugs work best for some two dozen conditions, ranging from heartburn to hear disease. That’s not rationing. It’s just being smart. And ifyou suffer fromone of those conditions, you may find you could choose a better medicine with fewer side effects and save thousands of dollars a year.

FEAR #4: Health reform means a government takeover of medicine as in England and Canada.
FACT #4: The proposed health reform system would look nothing like those in England and Canada. Both of those countries finance health care out of general tax revenues. England goes even further by owning and operating most of the hospitals. The proposed health reform system would build on the current employer-based insurance while ensuring affordable comprehensive coverage for those who lack it.

FEAR #5: Health reform will be too costly; it will raise your taxes and could even bankrupt the country.
FACT #5: The real threat to your finances is the health system the U.S. has now. A recent study concluded that today’s $2.4 trillion annual health-care tab would jump to $4.4 trillion by 2018 if nothing is done to rein in expenses. It is believed that the proposed health care reform system is teh best hope for getting costs under control. It would cut down on waste, overhead, and price gouging, and reduce inapprorpriate care and preventable errors.

Now those of us who support health care reform understand that change is scary. And this new system would be a complete overhaul of something that we all of have gotten so used to. But, it needs to be done. It needs to be done.