Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A Political Appeal

This is the post where I push my socialist, liberal agenda on everyone!

Okay, maybe not quite, but tomorrow, the House of Representatives is going to take action to attempt to repeal the Healthcare Reform bill.  Was the bill good or bad?  I honestly don't feel qualified to tell you.  I really wish I knew more about what was in the bill when it passed.  From what I've heard, most folks in the government didn't even know what was in the bill!

I am completely for healthcare reform. Making "pre-existing condition" a term that is entirely passé?  Yes please.  Establishing protocols that will keep people who are now uninsured healthy?  Definitely yes.

Some very good friends of mine whom I love dearly do not have health coverage.  One friend, D, is not offered insurance by his employer at all.  He lives alone, and I sometimes worry about what might happen if he finds himself in an emergency situation, such as when my appendix burst a couple of years ago.  My total hospital bill, without insurance, would have been over $40,000, and that's about as much as he makes in approximately two years.  M & B do not have health insurance for themselves because B's employer charges an arm and a leg for insurance, and they are a single income household with a preschooler.  Their daughter gets coverage through the excellent Pennsylvania CHIP program.

CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) has a cut-and-dry motto: CHIP covers all kids.  And they do, regardless of the income level of a family in PA.  Your child simply has to be uninsured and unable to qualify for medical assistance.  (Medicare or Medicaid, I assume.)

So why can't we come up with an agreeable health insurance policy for the whole country that covers all Americans?  I cannot imagine watching my friends go bankrupt in the event of a medical emergency, and yet it happens to honest, hardworking folks in the USA every single day.

"But Hannah, you don't want that socialized medicine like they have in Canada!  You have to wait!"

Guess what?  My husband had to wait six weeks to see a neurologist to diagnose a problem he was having, and he still hasn't received a diagnosis--they had to send him for even more testing..  I had to wait at least 4 hours in an ER once with pelvic pain.  And doesn't every medical resource out there tell you NEVER to ignore severe pelvic pain?

Please take a moment to let your representatives know that repealing the health care reform act is probably NOT the answer to all of our governmental woes.  It means your diabetes and other pre-existing medical conditions will go back to being four-letter-words, too taboo to insure.  Maybe the Healthcare Reform Act isn't perfect, but instead of scrapping the entire thing, how about our government leaders actually READ what they've written, then maybe consider the editing process?

Editing works well for writers and bloggers.  I think it can work for laws, too.  Just ask the Supreme Court.

4 comments:

  1. Amen, Hannah. As you may or may not know, my appendix also burst in Dec 2009...only it took two CT scans and two surgeries and two hospitalizations, etc etc etc, to resolve it. The price tag on that was incredible.

    I don't want anyone to go through what I did or you did without insurance. I don't want anyone with diabetes to go without insurance. I don't want anyone with mental health issues to go without insurance.

    Sigh.

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  2. Oh Hannah, I agree with you 100%. I just made an "emergency" appt with an endo about my foot pain and I can't be seen until late April. Someone close to me has a spot on his face that a doctor says needs to be seen "right away" and he can't be seen for another 6 months by a dermatologist...I mean...geeez we're just asking for decent treatment of people and that starts with some decent healthcare. It's so wrong that some people get sick, need expensive treatment, then lose their home and all their belongings because they're bankrupt from it.

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  3. Hannah-

    Excellent post! I don't think anyone should go without insurance I just wish there could be a happy medium. I know there will never be a happy medium from anyone but I know there can be something done to make the healthcare bill better:)

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  4. I'm Canadian and the system sucks here. There are still super long wait lists and such. Yes we are covered for basic care and necessary surgeries but fuck all for people like myself. I have no benefits with my job and subsequently have to pay for all my diabetes supplies (minus govn't funded pump supplies) out of pocket. There is no insurance company that will give me private coverage.

    things suck all over the world.

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