According to a 2008 survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, health insurance premiums, overall, have almost doubled in the last decade. However, the rate of income increase lags way behind. Overall healthcare costs have increased so rapidly that many American families become financially devastated following just a single catastrophic health event whether they have health insurance or not.

A 2006 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality survey reported that in close to 3 million households, nearly 20 percent of their income is applied toward healthcare related expenses, not including payment of insurance premiums. A number of these households have health insurance coverage; however the benefits do not adequately cover the healthcare needs of these families.

The other day I read a very interesting article from NPR, and I thought I’d share some of the information I learned with you. The article itself was quite refreshing to read, for rather than scrutinizing the current political debate, it addressed the actual origin of our nation’s current health care system.

Insurance truly began in the late 19th century in the form of “accident insurance.” The Franklin Health Assurance Company of Massachusetts began offering insurance for injuries derived from railroad and steamboat accidents.

The cost of health care expenses related to obesity has more than doubled over the last decade. In fact, according to the research of government sponsored programs, health care costs for obesity are expected to exceed $140 billion dollars a year.

Complications of one’s health are directly correlated to a person’s body mass index (BMI). BMI is the ratio of a person’s weight in kilos to the square of their height in meters. An individual is considered to be overweight if their BMI exceeds 25, and once their BMI reaches 30 they are classified as being obese.

This last Wednesday marked a major turning point in our nation’s health care reform. The Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus (D-Mont), finally unveiled the committee’s proposal for overhauling our nation’s health care. Although the proposal has drawn some criticism from Democrats since it omits a “public option,” many believe the proposal offers changes that will draw support from both parties.

The proposed bill, if initiated, is intended to provide health insurance coverage for 95% of Americans, and will not provide coverage for illegal immigrants. This being said, many are wondering how such a measure will be paid for.

One of the biggest reasons why our health care system falls short is the fact that we have a fragmented system. Having such a system promotes inefficiencies which in turn lead to unnecessary spending. Such spending manifests itself in a number of ways:

1. Lack of spending on health information technology. The United States is disorganized when it comes to health information systems. This is an item President Obama is trying to remedy with electronic medical records. An easy solution would be a tax credit for all Doctors to acquire EMR’s for their practices.

As we all well know, the House of Representatives are on their summer recess, but that doesn’t mean their work on the health care reform is on hold. Members are now taking the discussion back to town halls in their local districts. There, they hope to hold discussion forums on the health care reform in an attempt to educate constituents on the progress that has been made, answer questions, and also gain insightful comments from the American people.

President Obama for the most part has been following through on his promise to make the Whitehouse and Government more transparent.  During his briefing held this last Wednesday, he again emphasized the importance of a health insurance reform, and the importance it will play in rebuilding our country’s economy.

America currently spends the most on health care services, yet it still has the greatest number of uninsured individuals.  By creating a more cost efficient health care system (for example, electronic medical records to save on redundant tests) we could cut down on excess spending.

Paralleling the President’s overhaul to our nation’s health care, United Health Care (the second largest insurer in America) is looking to create an easier means for individuals to reap the benefits and services of doctors. They are hoping to make it so easy to see a doctor that you can actually do it from your very own living-room.

United Health Care is partnering up with Cisco Systems in their effort to create this new virtual network. Essentially United Health Care will utilize Cisco’s video conferencing capabilities with their network of doctors to offer better medical service to people in underserved areas. Individuals can purchase fiber-optic cameras for use in their own house or they could visit the mall where virtual doctor’s offices have been created.

As discussed in previous posts, a keystone element of our nation’s health care reform is the mandate for every American to have health insurance. An incentive proposed to promote such a change is a tax penalty placed on both family households and employers who do not have/offer health insurance. The questions that remain are what does this mean for small business owners, and what can they do to offer quality health insurance to their employees without breaking the bank?

As we all well know, President Obama has been focused largely on reforming our nation’s health care system. One of the biggest adjustments he is trying to create is a greater abundance and utilization of preventive health services.

So why is encouraging preventive health care such a keystone element of President Obama’s health care reform? The bottom line is that if Americans took advantage of their preventive health services; namely, their annual exams (including blood work and immunizations) millions of serious and life threatening illnesses could be prevented early on. Not only is it easier to prevent and conquer an illness early on in its stages of development, but if caught too late the procedures and treatment can often be useless and quite costly.