Healthcare and politics – OH MY!
Before I even begin let me say this; I am one of the most un-political people you will ever meet. I am largely uneducated and for years I was carelessly oblivious. I am trying very hard to change that. I voted for the first time this year. Being that I am 27 years old I know that I am late to the game. Since we are being truthful I will also admit that I could have done more research before marking those little ovals next to my choices.
Perhaps I picked the most difficult time to get involved, perhaps I’m not looking in the right places, perhaps there really aren’t any “right” answers. All I know for sure is that I am struggling to find MY answers and MY beliefs. I know what is important to me, I know absolutely where I stand on certain issues. Unfortunately none of those are the ones currently causing the most trouble for our country.
Heathcare and the call for reform has been a bit of a hot button issue in my house. It seems that my husband and I fall on opposite sides. He and I have ridiculously good insurance. I know without a doubt that we are covered for whatever services we need (and sometimes those we want). I rarely give a thought to insurance when choosing a doctor or deciding whether or not to make an appointment. My parents however are not so lucky. Their insurance is…well…not so great. Without going into all the gory details my dad has a condition, because of some loopholes his insurance is refusing him coverage and will not provide him with long term care coverage. End result being that when and if he should need long term care such as a nursing home there will be no insurance to help with the costs. Because of this I can’t say that our current system is working.
Today @Mommentator tweeted “Are you aware how many people are in this country? There.will.be.sad.stories. And we cannot fix every ill.”, I agree with that statement. I realize that no system works to perfection for every participant. That said I want an answer for my parents, I want for them what I have.
I wish that there was an easy answer but that is not the case. I wish that people on either side of the argument could come together and have civilized conversation and work together to find an answer that does more good than harm.
p.s. for the record I voted for Obama
p.s.s. I don’t know if I’m truly a democrat or not, I probably fall somewhere in the middle, you’d have to ask my stance on individual issues to “know” me
p.s.s.s. I love @mommentator, we may not agree on all the issues but I appreciate how she approaches her arguments and has never been critical of me for my personal beliefs.
September 10th, 2009 at 8:22 am
I agree with you that it needs fixing, I am pretty liberal, so it may not be a surprise that I am for healthcare reform. I feel the Republicans scare tactics of “Socialized” healthcare, will hinder improvements to this broken system.
I wish everyone could know someone without healthcare to see what they go through (my dad has medical issues and no healthcare, as well) and maybe their compassion would change.
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September 10th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Okay first off – Thank you for voting!
Second – no plan is perfect but this is better than what we have today.
My husband went to the doctor yesterday. The doctor told him the same things you mentioned.
The doctor stated to hubby that he gets paid less each year from the insurance company, yet the insurance company hikes the rates each and every year? Let’s say an office visit is $200 – the insurance company will pay him $90. EAch year that payment is less yet his costs to keep his office running and pay his insurance for his employees goes up.
My husband also has to pay more for his insurance because he works out. How is that possible you ask? Because the insurance company feels that a man of 6’2″ who is 245lbs is fat. He is not fat! He has a 50″ chest alright but as his doctor said yesterday he happens to fall under the insurance company’s category of morbidly obese so he has to pay higher premiums. (we pay $903 a month because we own our own business) So if he stopped working out and lost 75lbs he would not only look anorexic, be very ill, but he wouldn’t be considered fat. His doctor told him not to lose anymore weight than 15lbs tops. But that won’t help us with insurance. People are not cookie cutters. Some guys at that weight would be fat….he isn’t.
We are dealing with 90% of the doctors here in DC area who don’t even take insurance – PERIOD. I have had 3 gyno’s in 3 yrs. Each one ends up dropping insurance entirely – NOT MY INSURANCE mind you – ALL insurance. They then expect you to pay. So I keep changing and that sucks as well. Especially when you have found and really like your gyno – you don’t want to start again.
I don’t get everyone’s uproar on this topic. We have needed something for 50 years. What I do know for sure is that as the riches country in the world (supposedly) we are sometimes the most stupid and stubborn and uneducated and that is damn sad.
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September 12th, 2009 at 2:02 am
No, we CAN’T fix every ill but that doesn’t mean we should just NOT TRY. Sorry, but that’s a bullshit cop-out.
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September 12th, 2009 at 2:10 am
My good friend and her family have no health insurance. They own their own business and the insurance premiums are insane and have obscene deductibles on top of that. When her kids get sick, she has to weigh whether or not a $160 pediatrician visit will be helpful or not. If it includes labs or bloodwork, the cost skyrockets even more. Thankfully, they’ve been mostly healthy so far. I fear the day one of them isn’t…
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November 17th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
As someone who doesn’t have insurance, I thank you for taking into consideration others who may have different situations then yours.
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