Though the Penn State College Democrats stood alone in its agreement with the new health care law, the College Republicans stood alone in its belief that health insurance is not a necessity.
"You're not going to die without health care," a member of the College Republicans Andrew Natalo (senior-management) said. "Health insurance and candy bars are a luxury, not a right."
Penn State's Political Science Association hosted the debate on health care reform Tuesday night in 110 Wartik Laboratory.
Some of the effects of the new health care reform law include: allowing children aged 26 and younger to remain under their parents' health insurance plans, disallowing insurers to deny coverage because of previous conditions, offering tax credits to small businesses in order to make employee coverage affordable and providing a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who hit the donut hole in 2010.
The College Democrats' Executive Vice President Dustin Dove said though the law is imperfect, it is a step in the right direction.
"There are a lot of good things in this bill -- like extending it to people until the age of 26," Dove (senior-secondary education) said. "For the most part, we do agree with this bill."
The College Socialists, on the other hand, believe the bill is providing a misconception to the American public.
"In many ways, this doesn't cover everybody," College Socialist Paige Heimark (freshman-history) said. "So many people are under the impression that this is universal health care when it's not."
Dove urged the Socialists to recognize while it's not perfect, it has many good aspects.
The College Republicans believe the new law has many unconstitutional parts.
Natalo pointed out the 4th Amendment is violated within the bill, which allows the government to have free access of people's bank account information.
PSA member Lauren Muthler (sophomore-political science) said the debate made her question views she thought she already had a firm opinion on.
"These people are very involved politically -- they all know their stuff," Muthler said. "It's good for people who are not as involved or educated to come out here and hear the different points."
