Land of the Free - and Home of Those With No Health Coverage
Imagine this....
You are happily married to your high school sweetheart, have three great kids, and a job you've worked at for 20 years. You're a responsible citizen, pay your mortgage, have saved some money, and have worked hard to create your life the way you want it to be.
Then one day you arrive at work, only to be given a pink slip. After a 20 year career -- laid off. You're 39 years old and have to begin all over again.
A few months later, as if that wasn't enough, your wife learns that her ovarian cancer has returned and she needs chemo -- soon. Of course, you have COBRA insurance coverage -- but soon the government COBRA assistance will run out, your health insurance bills will triple, and even then, COBRA will run out a few months later. With a pre-existing condition, there's no way you'll ever be able to purchase health insurance for your wife anyway. She works, but her employer doesn't offer coverage.
So now -- what are you supposed to do?
If you are Bill Caudle of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, you join the Army. And soon, while his wife continues her chemo treatments and his youngest child finishes high school, he will leave for Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. He won't be there to support his wife, or share his daughter's high school experience. But his wife will have her treatment covered, because Bill will be in the Army for four years.
And that, my dear readers, is what is wrong with the American healthcare system. It exemplifies everything that's wrong with it -- and it highlights the solution, too.
What's wrong is that the United States of America has a healthcare system that leaves hardworking and worthy citizens out in the cold when it comes to options for getting the care they need. Bill and his family don't qualify for any existing assistance programs -- no -- they've worked too hard and they own a home. They don't have the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to fight wife Michelle's cancer. They have just enough to be sure they can't get coverage.
Their story shows why denial based on pre-existing conditions is so wrong, and how families can soon bankrupt through no fault of their own.
But their story shows an upside.... that there is good GOVERNMENT, single payer insurance out there that will do what needs to be done -- get Michelle the treatment she needs.
Yes -- good government healthcare. It might surprise you to know that the biggest government payers in the world are all based right here in the United States! While conservatives continue to fight a public option, it's the public option that helps the most people already. Medicare, Medicaid, the Veteran's Administration and TriCare (payer for the military) -- are all public options, public payers. And they work well.
In the past several months, I've heard the comment repeated many times that "Every American deserves the same coverage the President and members of Congress have!" Well, guess what -- the President and Members of Congress have the same coverage mentioned above. With the public option, we could have it, too.
So while the bureaucrats continue hashing out the healthcare reform details in Washington, I ask you to consider the public option. Bill Caudle joined the Army because he knew that was how he could participate. We aren't all "lucky" enough to be able to join the military....
But then, when you are responsible and love your family, sometimes it takes an extreme decision to provide for them.
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The VA system is an imperfect system as well. My brother, who was a soldier in the army, was diagnosed too late with colon cancer after repeatedly seeing a VA doctor for his symptoms. There are also countless errors and mistakes made by VA providers. Am I saying all veterans receive poor treatment? No I am not, however, “it’s unfathomable, and it’s unforgivable” how many fall through the cracks of that system especially after offering up so much to serve this country. To be clear, I completely agree that our current system needs reform, but based on my personal experience, I would not hold up the VA as a model for how our healthcare system should be structured.
Medicare/Medicaid may, in theory, sound great, but with fraud/waste estimates ranging from 10-30% of the nearly one trillion in taxpayer dollars that both systems will spend this year, clearly these programs have their own set of problems. For YEARS Congress has been aware of this fraud, and what has been their response? Rather than going after the fraud, they have slashed payments to providers and hospitals. Does this make sense?
I guess my point is that none of these systems are pillars of perfection – they have their own set of issues that require real solutions.
Christine – there’s no question, you are absolutely right that no system is perfect. I am very sorry to hear about your brother’s experience, and can relate with the missed diagnosis. A misdiagnosis is why I do the work I do — and frankly — no matter what system we are talking about there are mistakes and people will fall through the cracks. Sad, but too true.
However, in this case, let’s be clear that this man’s wife would have had NO care at all had he not joined the Army. When you compare NO care to care that at least gives her a chance, then there is really no comparison at all.