Whether or not you were persuaded by President Barack Obama’s “Change We Can Believe In” slogan during the 2008 election, change is here. Last month, the President finally signed a health care reform bill after contentious debates in Congress. The reform makes a number of changes to the country’s health care system. And it affects young adults in a major way because it allows people remain under their parents’ insurance until they turn 27.
Students understand that the reform is important. But it’s a different story when it comes to students understanding exactly why it’s a big deal and learning how it will personally affect them. We don’t blame students for being confused. The reform’s content changed so many times over the course of Congress’ debates that even the biggest political junkies might not be certain of what’s in the final product.
In the fall during the heat of the debate over the reform, a number of organizations got involved in efforts to educate students about the issue. The Penn Democrats even organized an entire week of health care-related programming which included a debate with the College Republicans and a panel discussion with professors.
Now that there is a final piece of legislation, student and University groups should take more initiative to better inform people about the reform’s applications.
Organizations can’t just persuade people to support or oppose government policies. They also need to explain how changes will actually work once they are implemented.
