I believe that health care is a basic human right.

There are those who oppose health care reform and any sort of government provision of health care who would disagree with that statement. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the politics of President Obama, the health care system in our country is incapable of supporting our growing nation.

Opponents of Obama’s health care reform are quick to cite numerous vagaries in the proposed bills as sticking points for their opposition. One of the lightning bolts for debate is the presence of a public option, or government-funded health care for all American citizens. Radical opponents of the idea throw around words like “socialism” and “Nazi” in an effort to catalyze the public into action. The next time you hear someone call Obama a socialist, ask them what the word means. Chances are they have no idea. Thanks for the English lesson, Glen Beck.

The fact of the matter is that the modern Republican tenant of less government involvement with private citizens appears, on its face, to stand against everything being proposed by the Obama health care plan. In actuality, the bills being shaped in Congress are becoming less controversial as the days go by.

On Oct. 14, the Senate Finance Committee voted to approve its version of health care legislation, clearing the way for Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, to combine the finance bill with an already approved version from the Senate health committee. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi must combine three different versions of the bill before the measure can be combined with the Senate’s ultimate product.

According to the New York Times, the Senate Finance bill will expand the existing Medicaid program and create new, state-run insurance programs for people living below the poverty line. Coverage will not be provided for illegal immigrants. This aspect of the bill reached a boiling point during Obama’s speech on health care reform in September. It was this commitment by Obama that led to Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina’s infamous “You lie!” In reality, according to FactCheck.org, the current House bill specifically forbids coverage for illegal immigrants.

Even opponents of the cost of the inevitable health care bill have less to complain about now. The projected cost of the bill is $829 billion over the next 10 years. This staggering figure, really quite minuscule when compared to the entire gross domestic product of the United States, $14.4 trillion in 2008, would be fully offset by a combination of taxes on high-cost insurance policies and savings in the current Medicare spending by the government.

Even with all this aside, the basic belief that health care is the right of every human being on this planet is really what’s going to divide people. Either you think that health care should be provided by a nation’s government, or you don’t. The details are essentially beside the point and all that remains is a question of ethics. Don’t be afraid of your opinion; just make sure it isn’t made for you by a cable news channel, a presidential speechwriter, or even a writer for your school newspaper. Find the facts and think for yourself.