While discussing politics, I was recently told, “College students don’t care about health care!”

Maybe not, but as we enter the workforce and grow older, we’ll have to start caring. The sooner we support effective health care policies, the better off we’ll be when we become the demographic that does care about health care.

Barack Obama has a realistic plan to reform our health care system. He recognizes the dangers of two extremes in the health care system, and offers a balanced solution. In the current system, insurance companies have been given excessive freedom, cheating Americans out of fair coverage. However, the answer to unrestricted insurance companies isn’t the exact opposite. The Obama plan doesn’t call for government-run health care — it incorporates the positive elements of such a system while maintaining American standards.

The most innovative aspect of the Obama plan is the implementation of a National Health Insurance Exchange, which will allow individuals and small businesses to purchase affordable health care coverage “with a range of private insurance options as well as a new public plan based on benefits available to members of Congress.”

Obama’s plan also requires insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. Currently, insurance companies can deny all claims related to a medical condition if they determine it as a pre-existing condition. Under Obama’s plan, all Americans will have access to comprehensive benefits regardless of current status or previous medical history.

Under the current system, prescription drug costs have gone through the roof, and no one has done anything to make them more affordable. Obama’s plan contains several suggestions to lower drug costs, including the increased use of generic drugs in public programs and the practice of importing safe medications from other developed countries. Obama will also crack down on pharmaceutical companies that make generic drugs inaccessible.

Regarding health care, the best position is a proactive one. Reliance on prescriptions would be less prevalent in a healthier society. Obama’s plan recognizes this and will require insurance coverage of preventative services, such as cancer screenings.

How will Obama pay for this plan? By rolling back Bush’s tax cuts for Americans earning more than $250,000 per year. Fewer tax cuts for the wealthy in exchange for more affordable health care for all Americans? Sounds like a good idea to me.

— Jessica Opoien is a freshman in English and pre-journalism and mass communication from Marinette, Wis.