Frank

Well, Americans are only 414 days away from the 2008 presidential election and the candidates are already proposing radical changes for their term in office. On Monday, Hillary Clinton announced her plan for "affordable, quality health care for all Americans."

While the debate rages about her idea for better health care, the fact that 47 million Americans lack health care insurance is undisputable.

I am this number. You'll have to excuse me if Hillary's plan sounds attractive.

While most of my friends are still covered by their parents' health insurance plans, I have been without for most of my years in college. This isn't because my parents refuse to pay for my coverage, but because they can't afford the premiums that would be associated with any insurance policy that would cover them.

My dad was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2001 when I was a sophomore in high school. Not only did this new reality change our outlook on life, it made affordable health care a lofty dream for my small family. The cancer, by the way, was removed, as were other small benign tumors that were found a year later. He's been 100 percent healthy since the last surgery in 2003.

Me and my dad in 2006

In 2004, my parents decided to buy their own company in Arizona; a small, independent company of a larger conglomerate in Atlanta. Because the new company was not a franchise, they were ineligible for the health care coverage offered by the corporation, and opportunities for us for to gain insurance grew dim. After my dad's term in the hospital, companies either refused coverage or demanded exorbitant premiums for meager coverage.

According to Working People, U.S.A., Incorporated, a 501(c)(4) social organization, most adults without insurance are employed, but their companies do not provide coverage and paying insurance premiums out of pocket is cost prohibitive for most middle and low-income workers. Another recent study by Families USA, found that coverage for a healthy 25 year old woman averages $2,459 a year; for a healthy 55-year old woman, the cost would be $4,934 and coverage for a family now exceeds $10,000 a year.

To combat this, Hillary's plan would provide tax credits for working families to help them cover health care costs. The credits would ensure that working families never have to pay more than a limited percentage of their income for health care. She also wants to force a "no discrimination policy" on insurance companies meaning they cannot deny coverage based on a pre-existing condition. Finally, the plan calls for portable insurance. So in the case of my parents, insurance they had while working for a large company could be carried over into the new life they have found as self-employed business owners.

The plan is especially appealing to small business owners, who find it hard to provide health care coverage for their employees without the buying power that large corporations garner. The proposed tax credit will help smaller ventures provide this vital care by defraying coverage costs. I have my own opinions that would make health insurance more affordable for these companies, but Hillary is the only one that has proposed any help for this group of Americans. The low premiums and higher quality is certainly attractive to anyone that looks at it.

Every America has their own issues to consider, some more important than others, but right now, as I begin to weigh benefits of possible jobs, health care is at the top of my list. For now, I hope Hillary and the rest of the Senators continue to fight President Bush in the current debate about the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a national program designed for families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance. Later in 2008, maybe a few other presidential candidates will begin to enunciate their ideas for improving a very large health care problem. Only then can Americans really make an informed decision in the election.

I would challenge you to read the full plan and make your own decisions, but remember the words of former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford, "If a criminal has a right to a lawyer, working Americans have a right to a doctor."