The American healthcare system prides itself on providing high-quality services to citizens who normally cannot afford them. This system has been in place for years and has done a pretty decent job so far. The problem today is money; the cost of hospital services and doctors' fees is rising faster than ever. In recent years the government has been trying to come up with a new plan, even though there has been strong opposition against a new healthcare system. There are many reasons why it should be changed and there are many reasons why it should not be changed. The main thing both sides are headed towards is money. Both parties want to save money in different ways. The healthcare change movement believes that change is needed because the problems facing the system today cannot be managed. Every month, 2 million Americans lose their insurance. One in four, 63 million Americans, will lose health insurance coverage for some time in the next two years. 37 million Americans have no insurance and another 22 million have inadequate coverage. Losing or changing jobs often means losing insurance. Getting sick or living with a chronic condition can mean losing insurance coverage or not being able to get it. Long-term care coverage is inadequate. Many elderly and disabled Americans enter nursing homes and other institutions when they would rather stay at home. Families exhaust their savings trying to provide for disabled relatives. Many Americans living in urban and rural areas lack access to quality care, due to the sparse distribution of doctors, nurses, hospitals, clinics and support services. Public health services are not well integrated and coordinated with the personal health care delivery system. Many serious health problems – such as lead poisoning and drug-resistant tuberculosis – are managed inefficiently or not at all, and therefore potentially threaten the health of the entire population. Rising healthcare costs mean lower wages, higher prices for goods and services, and higher taxes. The average worker today would earn at least $1,000 more per year if health insurance costs had not risen faster than wages over the past 15 years. If the cost of health care continues at its current rate, wages will be held down by another $650 per year 2000.