The Common Data Project makes this site available under the Creative Commons Attribution License.How will healthcare reform affect me? is designed and managed by the Common Data Project.
The Common Data Project is a New York-based 501(c)(3) created to explore alternative models for privacy and data collection in order to create a public "datatrust" - a new kind of institution where people can safely contribute personal information to further research and inform policy-making. We believe that public access to the rapidly growing stores of privately held personal data is crucial to a healthy democracy and informed policy-making.
If we can figure out new ways to share sensitive information, we think we could revolutionize the way we (1) come together around important issues and (2) engage with law-makers on complex legislation that defy simple, generalized answers. Eventually we can also imagine such forums becoming ways to (3) gather data to better understand social problems, and (4) use data to make personal decisions.
How will healthcare reform affect me? is our first experiment in how that might work.
As we stated above, the Common Data Project isn't a healthcare advocacy group. We decided to focus on healthcare because we see it as one of the top policy areas that would benefit from the existence of a datatrust.
It also happens to be a hot-button issue: Healthcare reform is an urgent and important public issue. As costs have gone up and quality of care has gone down, it's become more apparent than ever that we need better information about what's happening. Politicians and policy wonks alike make claims about each others' health care policies: They will cost more, lose jobs, create more bureaucracy, cut administrative costs, improve care, decrease choice. Insurance plans claim they will cover certain percentages of certain services under certain circumstances.
Still, this barrage of statistics doesn't seem to be helping people understand how reform is going to affect their personal healthcare. And that is what people want to know.
When I get sick and file my claim, how much is my insurance plan really going to cover? How good is my care? Could it be better and cost less under a different plan? What would a government plan do for me?
So instead, we're proposing a new way to engage in the public discourse on healthcare reform.
You may have had a claim denied, you may be uninsured, or maybe you've never had problems with the healthcare system but you frankly can't tell if you should be worried or not. Whatever your situation, your representatives should know about it and and be able to tell you h.
Contribute data. We've created a site that allows you to contribute your personal story, while also illustrating the wide-range of people who seek and need answers about healthcare reform. It's completely up to you to decide how much you want to share; you can even be anonymous.
Get data in return. As you enter your own details, you immediately see how many other people are in the same situation. Browse around the gallery and see who else has contributed. Even when people contribute anonymously, their data is still included in the aggregates "Numbers" page, which is accessible to everyone.
We at CDP can't tell you how healthcare reform will affect you.
Instead, we've created a place where we can join together and ask for answers based on real data, not conjecture nor fear.
We can show Congress and the President that there are many Americans who want their government to use real information to craft policy, answer questions, and measure the success of whatever legislation eventually gets passed.
To read more, we've written a series of blog posts expanding on these themes:
If you'd like to be notified when we've created new ways to access the data, or would like to stay posted on our progress, please give us an email address at which we can reach you. We promise not to sell or share your email address with anyone. (For more information, see our Privacy and Sharing Policy here.)
For more information on our goals and our mission, please visit commondataproject.org. And of course, if you have any questions and would like to contact us directly, please email us at info@commondataproject.org.