Deciphering the two presidential candidates’ health care reform plans is a daunting task.  Both sides play with numbers in ways that would make Enron’s accountants jealous.  The only fact that remains true for both sides is that the current system, while maybe not broken completely, has some serious cracks.

Nurses and other medical caregivers on the front lines of the health care system know that something needs to change.  People without insurance use emergency departments as their primary care doctors. Aging populations and shortages of medical professionals at all levels are causing holes in the continuum of care.  Patient safety issues are in the forefront of the Joint Commission’s goals and yet the current system is set up for patient safety disasters.

Nurses Care About Health Care

This article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution focuses on the two competing health care plans proposed by the candidates and looks at how they relate to the current system in their region.  It doesn’t matter on which side of the issue you fall, as a nurse, you need to educate yourself about the differences.  The final plan will ultimately be a compromise of some sort and will incorporate aspects of both options.