I know a lot of people who are scared of the health care reform that President Obama is pushing. I understand that change is scary and that most people are resistant to it. Fear of change can cause people to react and say the first thing that comes to their mouths before their minds have a chance to censor or stop and consider the full ramifications of those words. And both the sides of the spectrum have been guilty of antagonizing the other when it comes to issues like health care reform. I do think there are a lot of changes that need to be made and that the system in place is seriously flawed.
I am currently one of the fortunate ones in that both my husband and I are employed, we are in good health and we have fairly decent health insurance coverage that even includes dental and vision. I also know that we are quickly becoming part of an elite few when it comes to these things. So many of my friends are dealing with less than ideal situations when it comes to jobs and/or health insurance. They’ve lost their jobs, therefore losing their insurance or in order to keep their jobs, their employers have changed their health insurance coverage to a plan that is lower in cost but also covers much less than before.
What I am seeing happen is one of two things lately:
- More and more people losing health insurance and benefits and therefore not getting or seeking medical treatment when they need it or if they do, they are going even more broke trying to pay for it.
For example:
A good?friend of mine is in a situation where she IS working, but working for one company through a temp agency. So even though she is working full time and making money, she has no insurance or benefits coverage. She is also making a fraction of what she would be making if she was a full-time employee where she is currently is. Her husband just recently lost his job because his company went under. However, prior to that, they lost insurance coverage through his employer. They have to hope and pray that nothing major happens to either one of them because otherwise they will be out of their home, sick and broke. She’s blogged about her trials of living as a working American without conventional (or any) health insurance?here
Another example:
Another close friend of mine lost her job awhile back and is now working free lance. She is making money, but not enough to afford a private insurance plan. Several months ago while she was out running, she twisted her ankle. Because she had no insurance, she did not go to the doctor. It is still giving her trouble and there is little she can do about it because she cannot afford to pay for x-rays or the doctors visit let alone whatever prescriptions she might be prescribed to treat her injury.
These are just two small examples of the problems people face when they do not work for Corporate America or are stuck inside the loopholes of Corporate America. And while yes, they are two small and possibly to you insignificant examples, their stories are more common than you probably want to think and happening to too many people inside our borders right now. Maybe you’re currently in this situation or one similar to it. Or you know one or two or several people in similar situations. You don’t think it’s right, but what are you going to do because, hey, that’s how it is and that’s how it’ll always be. Well, that’s not true, but I’m not going to get into a history lesson on the evolution of health care and health insurance. And if you think that these two situations that I’ve ?given you as examples will never happen to you, then you need to get your head out of your ass.
The other thing I’m seeing is this:
- People who have jobs and insurance coverage find that they are no longer receiving cost of living increases because of the situation with the economy, and yet their insurance COSTS are going UP while their COVERAGE is going DOWN. Therefore, they are not seeing the doctor until their situation becomes dire and possibly life threatening.
Neither of these situations are good or morally right and there really does need to be change. I commend the President for stepping forward and outside of the box to suggest that the current state of our country’s health care is in poor condition; see that it needs change that is better for the everyone, not just the very poor and the very rich, and has a plan of action.
July 29, 2009 at 7:45 PM
Amen Sistah! I have a friend who is considering getting married to a man b/c she has no insurance. She doesn’t want to marry him. How F’d is that?
I have a blogger friend who calls this Insurance Reform. I think we need that too!
July 29, 2009 at 8:27 PM
Actually, we have health insurance now. BUT only because we make so little money – it’s called the Bridge Program from K-P. If Kevin gets a job, we lose it. So unless he can find a permanent job with benefits in IT, we’re holding steady at “getting by month to month.”
Which, needless to say…still sucks.
July 30, 2009 at 7:47 AM
Say it ain’t so, Grace.
You are the sweetest liberal elitist I know, and although your argument comes from the right place, I think you are missing an important part of the argument that us evil cold hearted conservatives have. We can do other things to reform health care without bringing down the 200 million plus American’s who have health care and are just fine with it. I can’t go into it right now because TJ just woke up, but on a separate note, I can tell you that when you have to pay for your own health care, you use is more wisely (I know this from experience, sad to say). We have a high deductible health plan. All preventative appointments and tests are covered, and then we just pay for everything else up to 2500 per person/5000 per family a year. There is something to say about the mentality of when to the doctor if it is only 25$ copay rather than $150 doctor visit. You think twice and don’t go in for every little sneeze. Could you imagine if health care was free and you had no incentive to save money? Ok, I really got to go and get her out of bed. 
TTYL,
Rindie
July 30, 2009 at 8:49 AM
Thank you for this post! I know from first hand experience how scary it can be to be uninsured. I was uninsured for a while when I was out of college and it was terrible. I had a new job, but the job wouldn’t cover you until your probation period was over. I couldn’t afford the montly payments it would take for me to be enrolled in the meantime, and I had to deal with terrible food poisoning and dehydration without the funds to go to the hospital. It was horrible and I learned first hand how important it is for there to be equal access!
July 30, 2009 at 1:02 PM
I am glad I don’t have to think about health insurance, because I live in the UK. Here, we are taxed a lot in almost everything we do – our wages are taxed, our homes and cars are taxed, petrol and alcohol and cigarettes and betting and almost everything we buy is taxed. So living in the UK is expensive. However,this taxation helps run the NHS Hospitals and Health Service (also the armed forces, the police force, the fire brigade, schools and colleges, libraries, job centres and other services). We do not have to pay for examinations like blood tests, xrays, scans or lab tests at all. We do not have to pay for a lot of treatments at all either. However, all employed folk still have to pay for any medication prescribed by their GP – we have to pay a fixed rate no matter how much the medication costs – except contraception, which is free. We are also required to pay for dental and optical exams and treatment; these used to be fully paid for by NHS, but not anymore. It became hard for a while to get an NHS dentist and a lot of people decided to go private, but usually this meant just paying for a private dentist. Now only the folk on government benefits – which they may apply for if unemployed, long term sick leave, disability etc, they get everything for free (sight tests, dental work, basic level glasses). People who are earning extremely good wages might choose to pay for private healthcare – here it is seen more as an optional extra. But without needing to do anything, I have this blanket cover through the NHS, and with that I have peace of mind. If I am sick or worried about something (like what’s this funny lump or do I possibly have endometriosis or what is the best contraception for me?), I can book an appointment with my doctor and they can run their own tests or make referrals to hospital clinics if needed. If I have a medical emergency, someone can call 999 and I will be treated for as long as it takes and I will not be charged a penny while I am in hospital. Not for the food, the medication, the examinations. But bear in mind I do pay for this as a tax in my wages and I ultimately pay towards the folk who cannot pay. But there is comfort knowing that if I became disabled or sick, I would be looked after – I would have just enough to get my basic needs met, anyway.
July 30, 2009 at 10:33 PM
I would hate the see the government run our healthcare system and I am afraid that is what will happen if the private insurers are run out of business- if that does indeed happen; it may not.
I agree the current system is screwy, but at least I know where I stand with it. I would like to see affordable (not free) healthcare made available to lower income people, but I would also like to see the insurance programs most us have through our employers left alone. My works just fine.
Another thing to consider, as one of your friends knows, employers don’t have to offer insurance benefits. They don’t have to offer anything except minimum wage and OT for non-exempt personnel. (And workers comp.etc) As a former HR director, I know that employers pay an assload for all kinds of employee benefits and alot times, those programs are cut in the face of economic hard times. I think that the current proposed health care reform will make nearly impossible for smaller business to stay afloat between the “mandated” coverage and/or fines. That means more job loses all over the country.
Lastly, I am one of those who do not think that health care is a right. Harsh, I know, but I am a capitalist at heart! If you want something, I think you should work for it.
BTW: Did either of your friends look into BCBS’s individual plans? My friend Amy looked into it for her family and it was very affordable and offered pretty decent coverage. It may be an option for them. Also, has the friend working with the temp agency inquired about benefits? Temp agencies sometimes offer it to employees after a longer-than-normal waiting period (since turnover is high).
July 30, 2009 at 10:47 PM
CORRECTION: I meant to say that I do not think FREE healthcare is a right for everyone. I am not THAT cold hearted!!! Social programs, Medicare/aid, WIC, etc. are necessary. However, socialized healthcare is the opposite of good. So is trying to type a coherent (sp??) comment at 11:00 pm……
August 3, 2009 at 11:08 PM
Well, since I’m newly self-employed I don’t have insurance of any kind. Hopefully will be able to afford a policy soon, but day to day bills are higher on my priority list right now. Luckily, I’m not a hypochondriac AND am pretty healthy. lol
I DO have a child, but his father is an Air Force officer, and therefore receives full health care benefits – even though it IS extremely difficult to find a provider who will take military insurance because they don’t pay worth crap and are next to impossible to deal with.
BUT – the point I’m wanting to make here is not really about my lack of coverage, or my son’s insurance issues. It’s that my brother owns a smallish company that makes several millions a year. Yet my sister-in-law, who is a nurse, had to go back to work 20 hours a week because their private insurance was so HORRIBLE that they were paying upwards of $700 a MONTH for medicine ALONE. So basically, instead of being the stay-at-home mother she wants to be, she works 20 hours a week for INSURANCE.
I don’t really know what I’m in favor of – but paying $700 a MONTH for MEDICINE is insane. Drug companies are getting rich and could help tens of millions of people – if only those people could afford the medicine they sell. And the doctor’s visit to get the prescription in the first place.