Healthcare reform has the possibility of changing the state of health insurance in America as we know it. President Obama and Democrats in Congress have vowed to pass a health care reform bill before the end of 2009. Over $2 trillion was spent on health care in 2007, far more per person than other industrialized nations. The intent of healthcare reform legislation is to cover more Americans: currently, 46 million Americans are uninsured. Most people in the United States receive health insurance through their employers, but the recession has meant that those who are laid off lose their insurance. COBRA coverage, which allows the unemployed to continue buying insurance from their former company at a higher rate, is available; however, it is very costly. Many employers have eliminated health care coverage altogether, forcing their employees to buy individual health insurance on the open market. Individual health insurance tends to be less affordable than a group plan. Meanwhile, others have had to file bankruptcy due to medical bills despite already having a health insurance plan.

What changes would reform bring? The healthcare reform proposals in Congress are set to forbid insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. They also include subsidies, that would allow those unable to afford it to buy private health insurance. Businesses and individuals who refuse to buy health insurance--even though they are considered to afford it--will face penalties, in order to encourage cooperation and reduced costs through a group buying pool consisting of younger, healthier people in addition to the older, sicker population in greater need of health insurance.

A very controversial possibility is a government-run health insurance plan commonly known as the "public option". This would work similarly to Medicare, except that it would be open to all Americans instead of solely those over the age of 65. Such a program is intended to compete with private insurers, not necessarily replace them. Republicans and other skeptics point out that Medicare has been considered wasteful and inefficient, and that any cost reductions would be from the government undercutting for-profit insurers and lower the quality of medical care in the U.S. There is also an ideological objection to the federal government becoming involved in health insurance, except in the form of tax cuts. With or without a public option, some form of healthcare reform appears likely to pass. Its exact provisions are still unknown, though it is projected to cost at least $900 billion over ten years.

Even if a public option is included in healthcare reform, it will be several years before it takes effect. Therefore, anybody currently able to buy health insurance shouldn't wait for the future prospect of government health care; many things could happen to your health in the meantime, and you'll wish you had individual health insurance.