Sarah Jacques
Round Table editor

On March 20, the health care bill, one of the most controversial pieces of legislation ever to face America, was passed by Congress and sent to President Obama. The bill has faced a months-long wait, dividing Americans across the country into pro-health care and anti-health care factions, and spurring heated debates about the subject nationwide.

Though the bill has been passed by President Obama, these factions will likely not disappear anytime soon; conservative Americans have still held on to their extreme dislike of the president, though he has been in office for over a year, and many Americans feel that the introduction of nationwide health care will ruin the country.

But the issue plaguing the United States is not how Americans currently feel about the newly-passed health care bill, but of whether or not the bill will be effective and worthwhile in the long run.

The health care bill was primarily introduced to offer health care to all American citizens. Finally, after 233 years of millions of Americans being denied health care services due to unfortunate circumstances, the government has realized that all living humans should be protected from preventable health problems.

Doctors, prescriptions, and other medical factors will finally be available to Americans in-between jobs that have previously avoided health care due to the cost. Single mothers that take on two or more jobs just to make ends meet will finally be able to provide health care for their children and no longer worry about affording medicine the next time they get the flu.

Of course, this perfect picture of an America filled with available health care for everyone is plagued with several issues. Most of the issues are concerning privacy; several American citizens are worried about how the government would force them to go to the doctor, and that they may no longer have the option to choose their own doctor or practitioner.

But these people are losing sight of the goal; this bill is granting health care to the entire nation. Several thousand Americans will be receiving care and medicine that they would not have received earlier. The passing of this bill has the potential to save countless lives of those who could not afford or were not eligible for health insurance in the past.

So maybe the government will be a bit more involved in the lives of Americans. Do the people of the United States truly believe that the beginning of nationwide health care, a service that will save lives throughout the nation, will begin a new age of fascism?

Americans are upset over the fact that the government may make them go to the doctor. They see this as a removal of their civil liberties, and fear that the government will begin to control their lives.

This should not be seen as an issue. What would be the point of nationwide health care if the nation won’t attend frequent doctor’s appointments?

A portion of the public is trying to find fault with the bill, and honestly are making a mountain out of a molehill over this issue; haven’t most people readily attended appointments after being told by their doctors that they need a check-up? The only difference between this circumstance of being advised by a doctor versus the government is just a matter of people involved.

The health care bill certainly has its share of issues that will need to be fixed. But the bill’s main purpose outweighs most problems the bill presents. The nation must focus on the goal of the bill; providing the opportunity of better health to all Americans.