Susan, I would have had no idea that 75% of those affected by medical bankruptcies started out with health insurance. That's an alarming statistic.
My sister is a nurse. Her husband is a roofer, self-employed. While her kids were little, she worked parttime at a nursing home, and couldn't work enough hours to get their health insurance. She and her husband tried to buy health insurance on their own -- these are two working people with a family -- and couldn't even begin to afford it.
So for several years, their family just went without health insurance. They had to pay for their own well-child checkups, vaccinations, strep-throat tests, prescriptions, all the things that come naturally to a young family. She knew how much any individual test would cost (when most of us have no idea). Mom and Dad pretty much went without preventative health care, and they had to pay full price for doctors' visits or tests or medicine when it was needed. They relied on the emergency room when they had to. It was a patchwork solution to a problem that should not exist. People who work in this country should be able to afford health care, even if they don't belong to a corporation.
Now that the kids are older, my sister works at a hospital and is able to insure the entire family. Imagine her amazement when, now, she only has to pay a co-pay for a checkup, a medical test or a prescription. She almost feels like she doesn't have to be "apologetic" anymore for her family's health care status. It's sad she ever had to feel that way.
It's clear that there's a two-tiered system in our country for health care, and the medical bankruptcy statistics sure bring that home. I love your point about not judging or jumping to conclusions. We can all practice good karma by giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, as a habit.
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Susan, I would have had no idea that 75% of those affected by medical bankruptcies started out with health insurance. That's an alarming statistic.
My sister is a nurse. Her husband is a roofer, self-employed. While her kids were little, she worked parttime at a nursing home, and couldn't work enough hours to get their health insurance. She and her husband tried to buy health insurance on their own -- these are two working people with a family -- and couldn't even begin to afford it.
So for several years, their family just went without health insurance. They had to pay for their own well-child checkups, vaccinations, strep-throat tests, prescriptions, all the things that come naturally to a young family. She knew how much any individual test would cost (when most of us have no idea). Mom and Dad pretty much went without preventative health care, and they had to pay full price for doctors' visits or tests or medicine when it was needed. They relied on the emergency room when they had to. It was a patchwork solution to a problem that should not exist. People who work in this country should be able to afford health care, even if they don't belong to a corporation.
Now that the kids are older, my sister works at a hospital and is able to insure the entire family. Imagine her amazement when, now, she only has to pay a co-pay for a checkup, a medical test or a prescription. She almost feels like she doesn't have to be "apologetic" anymore for her family's health care status. It's sad she ever had to feel that way.
It's clear that there's a two-tiered system in our country for health care, and the medical bankruptcy statistics sure bring that home. I love your point about not judging or jumping to conclusions. We can all practice good karma by giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, as a habit.
October 21, 2008 - 8:42amThis Comment
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