If it passes, it will be a mess
seems to be a new catch praise among those opposing health care reform.
What bothers me the most is that those whom I heard say it aren't Republicans but Independents who should know better. Only last night, I heard it said once again to me, this time by an old farmer who had kindly offered to advise me on raising chicks from the hatchery. The other person who said it was a young, newlywed paramedic whose mother-in-law is a friend of mine and who is practically a poster person for the need for health care reform. All statements that health care is already a mess and fixing it won't make things worse but better fall off them like water off a duck's back.
My friend had a brain tumor years ago that was successfully removed. She now has a pre-existing condition that keeps her from getting health care insurance. I shouldn't say keeps her, because here in New Hampshire they have one of those programs that Obama and his summit spoke of called an extreme risk pool. She takes this insurance because she has some money tucked away for her old age and doesn't want to lose it. That money also keeps her from being eligible for Medicaid. She lost her job due to a work related injury -- another story. The insurance costs her over $500 a month and comes with a $10,000 deductible. That's right -- ten thousand dollars. She's been having migraines lately and wants to have an MRI to make sure the tumor hasn't returned but can't afford one. She has received almost no follow-up care since her brain operation. Maybe she is all right but knowing it isn't a tumor would save her many a sleepless night. And if it is a tumor, perhaps it is still early enough to remove it and once again be well. Yet her son-in-law feels that health care reform would leave her in worse shape than she is in now.
I told the old farmer how the present health care situation makes me unemployable by the non-profits for whom I've worked in the past because in this state of NH, the insurance companies can triple the rates of all the employees health insurance if they put me on the books as I am both over the age of sixty and have been living on Social Security Disability. The fact that before getting disabled I did miracles in raising funds for those I worked for has no effect, as these small non-profits would go out of business before I ever could bring in enough cash to cover the problem. I've seen a number of companies hire people less qualified than me due to this. I even got one potential employer to quietly admit that was the reason to me. I could sue for discrimination but these are good non-profits doing good things. I don't want to put them out of business. My friend, like me, seeks employment but she too, is unemployable here due to her age and pre-existing medical condition.
That there will be a mess if health care reform passes probably is true as health care professionals and insurance companies are flooded with the uninsured. Although, compared to the mess now, at least it won't be killing people the way the present mess does. Like a small tsunami, I expect the flooding of new patients and new bills for their medical care will pass given a reasonable amount of time and then go down significantly from the high water mark of now, as preventative care starts taking hold.
Today, I was going to take a bus down to DC with Change that Works and the SEIU to be part of the mass arrest of health insurance lobbyists who are meeting at the Ritz tomorrow. As I just got word that my father is in his last days, I've stayed here at home. I know that if I get word in the next few days that I need to be by my father's bedside or at his funeral, my legs won't manage both 22 hours round trip on a bus and the five hour each way drive over mountains to where my father is. I found another friend to take my seat on the bus. She had wanted to go too but had agreed to stay and care for my livestock. Now that I am here to do that, she is on the bus right now. She is traveling with the friend who is on the assigned risk insurance pool with the insensitive son-in-law. I fervently wish that their trip helps pass our health care bill very soon.
In the meantime, I'd like a way to refute these people who somehow think that the way things are now is an acceptable mess. Clearly, although I know the issue well, it has to be stated more simply than I probably can manage as simple logic hasn't won them over. Advice is very welcome. The old farmer is supposed to come here and check my setup for chicks in a day or two and I'd like to see if I can pleasantly change one mind without starting a fight.
I want to learn how to change these minds because we will have our next election before the health care reform bill takes effect. I believe that experience of the benefits of HCR will convince these doubters that they were wrong but I'd like to convince them before the next election, thank you.