Opinions on Health Care Reform

By: Students of the Point Park News Service

Reporters from the Point Park News Service headed out to the streets of Pittsburgh to find out how people feel about their health insurance and the government’s plans for reform. Here’s what they had to say:

Taking a quick cigarette break from class, Francine, 33, a medical student at Kaplan University, Downtown, lives with diabetes and has no health insurance. She said she pays up to $800 per month for her supplies.

“I’m a diabetic with heart disease so I have to pay for my supplies,” she said, declining to provide her last name. “I can’t live without them.”

With health insurance, Francine estimated she would pay about $2,000 per month, so she and her husband choose to pay out of pocket. They feel it is the more affordable option.

“I’m thankful that my husband has a good paying job,” she said. “I don’t know what we would do if we couldn’t afford all of my medical needs.”

By: Ashley Campolongo

Keith Walters, 47, of Elizabeth, deals without having health insurance and being unemployed. Walters, who was Downtown after taking care of personal business, said he hasn’t had insurance for a year and is dealing with it day to day.

“I haven’t been sick for 8 months, and if I do get sick I’m just planning on riding it out until I get better,” said Walters. “Unless I become extremely ill I won’t go to the doctor because I simply just can’t afford it.”

Walters said that with the current healthcare reform debate going on he would like to see change. He wants to see change for the people who aren’t fortunate enough to have insurance.

“I think there needs to be some type of public option for people like me,” Walters said. “The reality is that people are sick and they need help. They can’t go to the doctor all because they don’t have benefits for some reason or another. It’s unfair and something has to change.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2007 there were 45.7 million uninsured Americans. Of that , 38 percent earn more than $50,000 per year.

By: Ashley Campolongo

David Calao, 28, an employee at Montour Heights Country club, said he is happy with his health insurance but believes the country’s healthcare needs to be reformed.

“I’m happy with my coverage but it would be great if everyone had a healthcare that worked for them,” he said.

Calao said he knows people who don’t have healthcare, and he sees how hard it is for them to live without coverage.

“I have friends who don’t have healthcare and they really struggle,” he said. “It’s so sad because they are hard working people with families.”

By: Ashley Campolongo

Jason Brennan, 34, of the South Hills, has had health insurance through his workplace for four years now but said that he’s afraid to use it. Brennan instead likes to “medicate himself” by taking over-the-counter medicine.

Brennan has had his share of sickness though. He said he had the flu for a three-week period, but he feels that he is better off now than when he was a bike messenger with no health insurance at all. He said that when he had that job, he was hit five times.

“Being a bike messenger is a difficult job,” he said. “My mom was pushing me to get a job where I wasn’t riding my bike all the time. She was worried about me getting injured, so it’s better that I have this job now.”

Brennan said hopes for health care reform of any kind, even if he has to pay a little more money for the sake of other people. He added that he’d especially like the changes to be made to benefit children and people that can’t afford health insurance, since he’s relatively healthy himself.

By: Jeanette Reft

The ongoing national healthcare debate has people talking about what changes they would like to see happen and how Congress should handle this crisis.

Kristy Snyder of Pittsburgh said she would like to see prices for healthcare decrease so that everyone can afford treatment.

“Rich people can afford healthcare so they will live, while poor people who can’t afford it will die,” said Snyder. “I just don’t think its fair and it definitely needs to change.”

Joey Podvasnik also believes that getting treated for certain injuries can cost too much.

“It’s $1,000 to get an MRI, and normal people like me just can’t afford that,” said Podvasnik. “They need to bring down the prices otherwise everyone will be broke.”

By: Auja Jones