Health Care Matters Most in Southwest Virginia

Ask anyone in Southwest Virginia what issue they are most concerned about this election season and nine times out of ten they will say healthcare. With the Virginia Employment Commission reporting a 4.4 percent unemployment rate for Southwest Virginia, it is no surprise that Southwest Virginians are concerned about healthcare. If people do not have jobs, they do not have health insurance.

Evidence of the healthcare crisis in Southwest Virginia can be found in the success of the Remote Area Medical Program (RAM). In 2006, 188,000 Southwest Virginia residents attended a RAM event to receive free health services. According to the organizers of RAM, in 2006, over 200 patients received audiological, medical, and hearing aid evaluations. The Dickenson Star, a local newspaper in the area, reported that the 2007 RAM event was even more successful. What must be realized though is that the success of programs like RAM shows the failure of the health care system in the United States.

Many of the people who attended the RAM health fair did so because it was the only time that they would be able to receive healthcare all year. Participating healthcare providers saw patients for hypertension, arthritis, poor dentition, depression, heart disease, diabetes, pulmonary disease, domestic violence, and illiteracy. Patients who have heart disease should not be receiving healthcare one time per year, they should have access to life saving healthcare everyday of the year.

I, personally, have been affected by the poor healthcare system in the United States. The day I graduated from college, I was dropped from my dad's health insurance plan. As is the case with most college graduates, I did not have any type of employment lined up for directly after graduation. Luckily, my parents took out an insurance policy for me and have been paying the premiums while I have been searching for gainful employment. Had it not have been for my parents, I too would be one of Southwest Virginia's unemployed and uninsured population.

During this election year, the people of Southwest Virginia and I will be paying close attention to the stands that Barack Obama and John McCain make where healthcare is concerned. Southwest Virginians will be looking to see whether or not the Republican party can reevaluate their healthcare infrastructure or if the new ideas brought to the table by the Democrats would be the better choice. In my opinion, Southwest Virginia can be won or lost by either party based on their ideas regarding the healthcare system in the United States.

Source: www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/outreach/ram/ram.cfm