America’s Health Care is in Crisis; GCC is not immune

Before you read about Glendale College’s health insurance rate increase and related items, please remember that we live in the only “advanced” nation that does not provide health care as a right to all its residents.

     Our health care system uses more resources and serves fewer people than countries with universal health care.  Our system provides outstanding care to those with private coverage, and leaves millions uninsured, scrambling for underfunded public health bandaids.

     Our system’s crisis has been portrayed on film in Michael Moore’s “Sicko” and has caused politicians of all stripes to call for major health care reforms of various types.

     Both CFT and CSEA have gone on record supporting State Senator Sheila Kuehl’s universal health care legislation, but the legislation has been vetoed.

     In this context, given the system we are now operating in, the following article describes our college’s recent huge rate increase for Blue Shield PPO coverage (which is used by the vast majority of our employees).  This article presumes that our health care system is not changing overnight and that we must find ways to keep our rates down and stay healthy despite the lack of a universal health system in our nation.