Apathy: the college student’s real health care problem

As politicians, analysts and town hall attendees weigh in on health care reform, there is little silent respite to enable us to find the truth.

Health care reform has been media's main topic practically since President Obama's first day in office. Each news source spouts off different reasons why the health care is either the savior of American democracy or the destroyer of the free market.

Some reports are factual, but others are one-hundred-percent spin.
It is difficult to keep up with all the rumors.

The debate on health insurance reform has as many lies as actual facts.

Both parties agree that something must be done about the state of Americans' access to health care, and they should engage in vigorous debates before making decisions that will so directly affect our lives.

But a key ingredient missing from these debates is the college-age demographic.

Just ten months ago, college-aged people were the loudest proponents in the election, going door-to-door, making phone calls and expressing their views to anyone who would listen and many who didn't want to.

They were far from the only voices. People of all ages and backgrounds were highly involved in the historic 2008 election, but the only sound coming from 18-30 year olds now, when their health hangs in the balance, is the sound of silence.

They will be the ones paying the largest portion of the bills for the longest period of time if insurance reform happens.
They will be the ones paying higher health care costs for their parents, children and selves from a shrinking family budget if nothing changes.
The people who have been dominating the town hall meetings thus far, and perhaps rightly so, have mostly been older Americans. They have more experience, generally, than the average youth when it comes to doctors, tests and procedures.

What this segment of the population brings to the table is both valid and vital, but the point of debate is to bring in all sides of an issue.
One of the job sectors projected to see the most growth in the next few years is the service industry. While jobs in that category vary wildly, it includes restaurant servers, hotel staff and customer service at all economic levels.

Food businesses are so well known for not providing employee benefits that a recent article in the Savannah Morning News highlighted the local restaurant, Siciliano's, that does provide health care for its employees.

Students are set to enter the work force any day, and they may be surprised to learn that the career for which they received an education is no longer accepting applications.

It's pure self-preservation to consider the options to keep ourselves healthy well into the future, especially when the younger students can no longer stay covered under their parents' insurance plans.

There is no typical AASU student; as a non-traditional college, we pride ourselves in our individuality.

But unlike students at traditional universities, AASU's student body represents that age group that is notably silent in the raging debate.

Maybe we're distracted by our college studies, or maybe we don't have enough financial stability in our lives to feel comfortable advocating a stance either way. But this is a decision affecting our livelihood, let alone our taxes and the growing federal deficit.

There are too many resources available for us to use ignorance as an excuse. If nothing else, students can talk with each other to eliminate the spin flying helter-skelter over the airwaves.

Get informed and get involved.

The notorious college apathy could actually kill us this time.