Healthcare

Could there be a hotter topic these days? There's a lot of information out there, along with a lot of misinformation, and some pretty scary stories. But this is America; you know the ending CAN be a happy one.

The nightmares of health insurance operating unregulated are quite familiar to me, as I suffer from a couple of chronic conditions, and generally, my health is poor, especially as I get older. I have seen my diabetes used as an excuse to refuse me auto insurance, life insurance (OK, I understand that one) and health insurance. I saw my employer's health plan changed to exclusively refuse me and me alone, out of a company of nearly one hundred. As if life isn't difficult enough simply trying to survive these conditions, and all of the other distractions of life, I must do battle with insurance companies who put dollars before treatment. I've been told by my HMO doctor to test my blood sugar levels seven times a day, but my HMO pharmacy would only provide enough test strips for three tests a day. And yet, my experiences are minor; a friend was delayed long enough to die before receiving life saving treatment. This is all too common, and only seems to sink in with those whom it strikes.

Though a liberal, I think it very unfair to require the rich to pay for all of my health insurance, while asking nothing of myself. I'm an American, and can and will make sacrifices for what I believe in. I can afford twenty-five cents per can of soda to help pay for healthcare, though I drink around a six-pack of soda a day (diet). I'd even pay twice that much! And I'm poor. It may not be as large a contribution as the wealthy may end up paying, but I'll do what I can to help. What is the answer to our health care needs? Insurance performs no actual function, aside from denying service. Insurance is a HUGE waste of money, with no actual product or service (you can find a doctor without their help, right?). So forgive me for having absolutely no sympathy for the insurance industry – they can collapse and regroup into some other field, imho. Either we need to severely regulate the industry, which has demonstrated a propensity for unethical and abusive behavior, or we need a public option to give people a choice, thus forcing the insurance companies to modify their product to remain competitive. We need change, and something drastic seems in order at this point. The healthcare industry is bribing – I mean, lobbying – congress to the tune of one point three million dollars per day right now. How do we create change with resistance like that?

We've known that we, as Americans, have been sadly behind the rest of the developed world in providing this basic function to our population. Many other countries even provide it to foreigners. Sadly, we wait until the problem is so big that it's about to bankrupt our nation, then we act. Kinda like our response to global warming and conservation in general – wait until the eleventh hour. We don't have to become like Canada, or England, or France, or Germany, or Cuba, or any of those other countries that are so successful in this capacity, but we DO need to adopt something that works. In all sincerity, I say that if you do not like the public option, and I can understand concerns over it, then please show us a smart alternative, and do it quickly. We have no more patience for this agony. Too many have suffered and/or died, needlessly, over corporate greed. If you have an idea, bring it forth, or support something that is better than the failure we have today.

And one last note: I loved my healthcare HMO, too, until they were required to spend some money on a surgery. My doctor, a member of Kaiser, told me I had a work related injury, and that Kaiser would not cover it, as such. In California, Kaiser is the carrier for my employer's Workman's Compensation. I went to see the worker's comp doctor, in the same Kaiser building, two doors down from my doctor. He insisted I had no injury, and refused to treat me. Thus began a five-year journey through hell. My employer was allowed to punish me for being injured at work by canceling my Kaiser, thus ruining my health even further. This eventually led to my losing my eyesight (it's nearly gone now), and a host of other complications due to a lack of basic health care for chronic illness. And do NOT think that if you walk into a hospital, they have to treat you (I had a doctor tell me this once). I absolutely know better – all they have to do by law is stabilize you – if you aren't about to die, you're outta luck. This system simply does not work. I earn a lower wage so that my employer can afford to pay worker's comp insurance to cover me (he doesn't eat bread and water so that I can have worker's comp insurance), but because his name is on the check to the insurance company every month, they only listen to him, though I'm the one they're supposed to be concerned with. I am NOT a concern to them, though the state worker's comp law requires that I am. Again; this simply does not work. Had I gotten treatment in a timely manner, today I'd be back to paying taxes, not living out my last years at the tax payer's expense. May no one reading this EVER have to ride this horse. Call your representatives; make sure of it.

John