In many ways, the United States leads the world in the medical field. Many of the world’s most prominent and talented doctors practice on our shores and receive their education at American institutions.

Groundbreaking research leading battles against cancer and other diseases often comes from American laboratories and we routinely receive new pharmaceuticals ahead of the rest of the world.

But while we are reaching success in the labs and pumping out Ivy League doctors every year, not every American is eligible to be a beneficiary of those doctors and their medicine.

Republicans such as Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama claim that the current American system is “the greatest health care system in the world.” The truth is that we currently operate under such a flawed health care system that to label it as the greatest system in the world is a fallacy of immense delusion.

American health care denies millions of sick citizens every year, labeling them as undeserving of medical attention because of their health insurance plan. Hospitals routinely turn people away who are suffering with cancer all because they lack a certain kind of insurance, if they even have one at all. To reverse this travesty of public policy, the President has been laboring throughout his first term in office to pass a health care reform bill that would make health care universal. The goal is to create a system where every American citizen would qualify for medical attention.

Still, those opponents of President Obama’s health care reform bill, such as Shelby, continue in their insistence that the President ought to put his time and efforts in office to better use. But these conservative advocates of selective health coverage were somewhat silenced Saturday when members of Congress approved the President’s health care reform bill. This marks a huge step forward for the reform movement, as it now awaits the approval of the Senate before it can make its
way to the President’s desk.

For college students, the legalization of this reform would prove to be an enormous source of relief. Under the current health care system, students enter a period of worry and instability after they graduate.

Paying off school loans and finding financial footing for the first time in life can be made a disastrous situation with untimely health complications. For students fresh out of school without a solid insurance plan, health issues can lead to unavoidable bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, the amount of young adults without acceptable health insurance is not low. According to the Democratic Party’s Web site, 30 percent of young adults in the United States do not have health insurance, compared to 17 percent of older adults.

While these statistics are scary for college students, it all adds to the bigger picture – American health care is not a thorough system that works. We have too many Americans being denied treatment every day who deserve it. Men and women with jobs and families, students fresh out of school and children in grade school all being refused because they lack the proper insurance plan. In short, our health care system is one of the few elements of our government not idolized by democratic
nations around the globe.

The Congress’ approval of President Obama’s health care reform bill on Saturday is a very promising development. It is indicative of stubborn politicians facing the reality of our discriminatory American medical landscape. With the approval of the Senate, American health care can finally become a system that truly benefits all Americans.